ART  EDUCATION 

Bound/'  and  many  another  choice  bit  of  litera- 
ture will  then  mean  more  to  them.  They  ought 
to  hear  the  sweet,  joyful  gush  of  melody  from  a 
canary's  throat,  and  see  the  bird  produce  it. 
Birds  and  bird  songs  and  good  music  of  every 
kind  will  seem  dearer  to  them  after  such  an 
experience  in  early  childhood.  An  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  life  history  of  a  few  flowers, 
the  handling  of  a  few  choice  books,  familiarity 
with  a  few  of  the  best  works  of  fine  art,  each  year 
in  school,  are  all  illuminating  and  potent  experi- 
ences which  every  child  should  have.  The  oppor- 
tunity in  every  grade  for  children  to  express 
themselves  not  only  vocally,  but  manually,  is  an 
inalienable  right  that  must  not  be  denied.  In 
other  words,  the  schoolroom  should  furnish  ideals 
and  standards  of  excellence  in  everything  it 
involves. 

The  teacher  is  fortunate  who  has  an  ideal 

,  schoolroom;  but  perhaps  the  teacher  is  more 

fortunate  who  has  not,  for  the  opportunity  to 

produce  one  with  the  cooperation  of  the  children 

is  not  to  be  despised. 


8 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

A  favorable  school  equipment 

A  schoolroom  decorated  and  furnished  in  such 
a  way  that  its  equipment  and  appearance  are 
calculated  to  promote  the  growth  of  skill  and 
taste  can  be  achieved  in  any  community  by  any 
intelligent  and  persistent  teacher  who  has  won 
the  love  of  her  pupils.  To  such  a  teacher  all 
things  are  possible. 

The  elements  that  combine  to  produce  an 
interior  of  this  kind  are  the  colors  of  walls,  ceil- 
ing, and  woodwork,  the  wall  and  window  decora- 
tions, and  temporary  exhibits  of  various  kinds. 
These  may  well  be  considered  in  order. 

(i)  The  color  scheme.  The  color  scheme  of  a 
schoolroom  should  make  the  room  appear  at 
once  cheerful  and  restful.  This  effect  cannot  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  brilliant  hues  or  violent 
contrasts  of  color. 

The  colors  selected  should  help  to  adjust  the 
light  which  enters  the  room  to  the  requirements 
of  the  eye.  If  the  room  is  flooded  with  direct 
sunlight  during  school  hours,  the  resulting  bril- 
liancy should  be  somewhat  reduced  by  the  use  of 
9 


l/80(. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/arteducationOObailrich 


Mtmiht  CHucattonal  jmonogmpi^js 

EDITED  BY  HENRY  SUZZALLO 

PROFESSOR    OF  THE    PHILOSOPHY   OF   EDUCATION 
TEACHERS   COLLEGE,   COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 


ART  EDUCATION 


BY 


HENRY  TURNER  BAILEY 

EDITOR    OF  ,      /    , 

THE   SCHOOL   ARTS   MAGAZINE        i '^VXHHaO' 


HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

BOSTON,  NEW   YORK   AND   CHICAGO 


(d^ 


COPYRIGHT,    1914,   BY   HENRY  TURNER    BAILEY 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


CAMBRIDCB  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .  S   .  A 


CONTENTS 

Editor's  Introduction v 

Foreword xiii 

I.  Art  Education;  its  Aim  and  Method      .      i 
II.  The  School  Estate  a  Factor       .       .         3 

III.  The  Schoolroom  a  Factor       .       .       .7 

IV.  School  Housekeeping  a  Factor   .       .       30 
V.  School  Costume  a  Factor        .        .       .32 

VI.  School  Work  a  Factor  .       .       •       .  35 

VII.  Specific  Instruction  a  Factor        .       .  45 

VIII.  The  Teacher  the  Chiep  Factor  .       .  94 

Outline 99 


296626 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  argue  the  worth  of 
art  education  with  those  who  have  experienced 
beauty  fully.  To  them  it  is  an  important  value  in 
life,  one  by  which  the  refinement  of  human  exist- 
ence is  measured.  If  a  large  generosity  of  spirit 
be  coupled  with  esthetic  appreciation,  these  per- 
sons would  gladly  give  every  child  some  traim'ng 
in  the  creation  and  appreciation  of  the  quality 
of  beauty.  They  believe  in  art  training  because 
they  would  add  to  the  general  enrichment  of 
human  life. 

Unfortunately  all  are  not  possessed  of  an  es- 
thetic experience  which  convinces  and  a  generous 
spirit  which  shares.  An  ignorance  which  disdains 
refinement,  a  poverty  which  dares  not  aspire  to 
it,  and  a  selfishness  made  respectable  by  aristo- 
cratic traditions,  —  all  conspire  to  sustain  the 
prevalent  belief  that  art  is  a  luxury.  Since  educa- 
tion is  so  very  common,  and  art  can  be  made 
so  very  cheap,  it  seems  amazing  that  a  people, 

V 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

frankly  democratic  in  aspiration,  should  have 
done  so  little  to  make  the  art  element  common  in 
life.  '\It  may  be  that  our  particular  tradition  and 
History  impede  us.  Doubtless  the  Puritan  tradi- 
tion in  American  life  has  made  us  partly  blind 
to  esthetic  values.  To  some  of  our  people,  many 
forms  of  art  expression  are  mere  frivolities.  Play, 
athletics,  dancing,  and  sociability  are  often  re- 
garded as  wasteful  and  trivial.  Again  we  are  not 
far  from  our  frontier  life.  America  is  young.  A 
short  while  back,  we  were  all  pioneers  wresting 
a  livelihood  from  nature  under  conditions  which 
called  for  complete  attention  to  economic  needs. 
Now  that  we  are  prosperous,  that  early  domi- 
nance of  economic  values  still  persists  to  the  con- 
tinued subordination  of  esthetic  considerations. 
The  result  is  seen  in  our  generally  accepted 
aristocratic  conception  of  art.  The  rich  feel  that 
beauty  is  a  perquisite  of  prosperity.  The  poor 
hardly  dare  to  consider  it  as  their  right.  The  ar- 
tists themselves,  conscious  of  their  best-paying 
clientage,  despite  their  protestations  to  the  con- 
trary devote  a  disproportionate  amount  of  their 
gemus  and  energy  to  art  forms  especially  adapted 
vi 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

to  the  uses  of  the  prosperous  leisure  class.  Their 
interest  in  design  applies  itself  to  the  composition 
of  portraits  far  more  than  to  the  structure  of 
cups  and  saucers.  They  have  the  defense  that 
creative  power  must  supply  the  demand  of  the 
appreciative.  If  such  be  the  case,  we  must  develop 
a  democratic  art  through  the  bestowal  of  taste  on 
the  multitude.  This  is  the  task  of  art  education 
in  the  schools. 

In  a  restricted  way  we  have  been  engaged  in 
art  education  through  the  schools  for  some  time. 
But  the  results  have  not  been  satisfactory.  The 
whole  program  needs  careful  criticism  and 
thorough  reconstruction. 

To  begin  with,  the  program  for  art  education 
in  the  schools  has  been  narrow  and  fragmentary, 
—  a  small  amount  of  drawing  and  color  work,  a 
little  singing,  and  some  literature.  And  most  of 
the  things  sung,  read,  and  drawn  have  been  un- 
related to  the  common  Kfe.  We  did  not  make  sub- 
stantial progress  in  moral  teaching  as  long  as  we 
were  content  to  coniftne  it  to  the  Sunday  School 
or  other  classroom  period.  Progress  came  when 
morality  was  treated  as  an  aspect  of  the  child's 
vii 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

whole  Kfe.  Art  teaching  must  undergo  a  similar 
evolution.  It  is  well  enough  to  teach  art  in  special 
class  periods  in  connection  with  special  subjects. 
It  is  better  to  care  for  art  everywhere  in  school 
life.  Life  at  school  is  full  of  unused  opportuni- 
ties for  art  teaching.  One  has  only  to  look  at  the 
school  premises  to  appreciate  this  fact.  But  it 
is  probable  that  the  program  must  create  oppor- 
tunities not  now  existent  in  school  life.  Festi- 
vals, dramatizations,  dancing,  and  other  esthetic 
expressions  of  sociable  life  require  fuller  oppor- 
tunity than  the  school  provides. 

Then  the  school's  whole  theory  of  transmitting 
art  from  classroom  to  adult  life  will  need  to  be 
changed.  The  present  belief  is  that  the  child  can 
be  put  through  adult  ways  of  doing  things  and, 
finally,  when  he  has  become  a  full-fledged  mem- 
ber of  society,  be  counted  an  art  devotee.  The 
futility  of  such  dogma  has  already  been  made 
apparent  in  intellectual  teaching.  Its  futility  is 
\even  more  obvious  when  applied  to  the  training 
^f  the  sensibilities.  The  only  way  to  become 
aoroughly  intellectual  or  esthetic  is  to  observe 
rational  or  artistic  standards  in  one's  own  absorb- 
viii 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

ing  affairs.  Then  as  affairs  enlarge  from  the  nar- 
row boundaries  of  childhood  into  the  wide  world 
itself,  the  methods  of  a  logical  or  esthetic  life  are 
extended.  Beauty,  like  morals  and  rationaUty, 
must  be  made  the  daily  and  ubiquitous  habit  of 
school  Hfe.  School  life,  properly  conducted,  is  the 
child's  own  life.  As  adults  will  be  expected  to 
keep  beautiful  their  temples  of  government,  their 
habitations,  their  parks  and  streets,  the  children 
must  from  the  start  be  held  responsible  for  art 
in  their  own  institutions.  The  grounds,  the  gar-< 
dens,  the  schoolroom,  the  conduct  of  sociability, 
—  are  all  their  own.  As  men  often  gather  in  a 
formal  way  to  discuss  the  beautifying  of  their  city, 
the  children  will  come  together  in  the  art  period 
to  learn  the  manner  of  making  their  own  domain 
more  attractive.  The  formal  study  of  art  so  many 
periods  a  week  is  important,  but  it  is  fruitless 
without  the  thought  of  realizing  beauty  in  the 
child's  immediate  life. 

Finally,  the  aim  of  art  education  needs  modifi- 
cation. The  first  teachers  of  drawing  and  music 
were  largely  professional  artists.    They  trained 
future  mechanics,  farmers,  and   .merchants  as 
\%  ' 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

though  they  were  all  destined  to  belong  to  an 
artistic  profession.  The  interest  of  students  was 
killed  with  prolonged  practice  in  a  technique 
that  they  did  not  require  in  the  constructions  and 
expressions  of  their  own  Uves.  Meanwhile  the 
opportunity  to  develop  appreciation  had  passed. 
By  way  of  extreme  reaction  against  this  point 
of  view,  many  now  urge  that  art  education  should 
aim  exclusively  at  art  appreciation,  artistic  power 
being  completely  subordinated  as  a  purpose. 
There  is  probably  much  sanity  in  this  extreme 
reform.  To  be  sure,  most  people  will  control  the 
esthetic  quality  of  their  lives  through  the  exer- 
cise of  choice  among  other  men's  creations;  but 
there  is  always  need  and  opportunity  for  artistic 
construction  in  every  man's  life.  Hence  it  should 
not  be  completely  omitted.  Again,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  little  children  learn  best  through 
active  experiences,  and  artistic  expression  with 
them  may  thus  be  a  pedagogical  means  rather 
than  an  end.  As  they  grow  older  they  will  gain 
a  further  development  of  appreciative  taste, 
through  personal  choice  operating  among  varied 
opportunities. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

It  was  with  such  convictions  as  the  above  in 
mind  that  a  monograph  on  art  education  has  long 
been  sought  for  this  series.  It  is  with  a  sure  appre- 
ciation that  the  treatment  needed  is  here  provided 
that  the  following  is  offered.  If  only  it  can  be 
got  into  the  minds,  as  well  as  the  hands,  of 
teachers,  it  will  aid  greatly  in  the  widespread  re- 
form of  our  art  teaching. 


FOREWORD 

Can  rules  or  tutors  educate 
The  semigod  whom  we  await? 
He  must  be  musical, 
Tremulous,  impressional. 
Alive  to  gentle  influence 
Of  landscape  and  of  sky, 
And  tender  to  the  spirit-touch 
Of  man's  or  maiden's  eye: 
But,  to  his  native  centre  fast, 
Shall  into  Future  fuse  the  Past, 
And  the  world's  flowing  fates  in  his 
own  mould  recast. 

Emerson. 


ART  EDUCATION 
I 

ITS  AIM  AND  METHOD 

The  purpose  of  art  education  is  the  development  f 
of  appreciation  for  the  beautiful  and  of  power  to 
produce  beautiful  things. 

Such  taste  and  skill  will  not  appear  when  the 
teacher  stamps  his  foot.  They  are  fruits.  They 
must  be  grown.  The  seeds  that  will  produce 
them  are  in  the  heart  of  every  normal  child. 
Sometimes  these  seeds  are  of  such  potency  that 
they  will  sprout  and  bring  forth  fruit  under  what 
seem  to  be  the  most  adverse  conditions;  but  our 
whole  theory  of  education  rests  on  the  conviction 
that  conditions  can  and  should  be  controlled  and 
utilized.  We  believe  that  if  the  rocks  be  removed, 
the  thorn-bushes  burned,  and  the  hard-trodden 
soil  broken  up,  the  seeds  will  be  more  likely  to 
produce  the  hundredfold. 

Taste  develops  gradually  through  the  making 
of  choices  with  reference  to  some  ideal.    Skill 
I 


:  • . ;-:  ART  EDUCATION 

develops  slowly  through  doing  things  with  refer- 
ence to  some  standard  of  excellence.  In  art  edu- 
cation, therefore,  every  possible  opportunity 
should  be  given  for  those  conditions  and  activi- 
ties through  which  taste  and  skill  may  mature. 

This  means,  first,  beautiful  school  buildings 
and  grounds. 


II 

THE  SCHOOL  ESTATE  A  FACTOR 

A  BEAUTIFUL  school  estate,  large  or  small,  in 
city  or  in  country,  means  an  estate  that  appears 
adequate  and  consistent.  The  building  should 
be  one  of  the  best  in  town  —  better  than  the 
average  home  of  that  town  —  and  well  placed 
in  an  ample  lot.  The  lot  should  be  large  enough 
to  admit  of  a  spacious  playground  and  a  lawn 
with  shrubs  and  flowers.  If  both  the  play- 
ground and  lawn  are  impossible,  the  playground  is 
preferable.  The  beauty  that  appears  in  the  faces 
of  healthy,  happy  children  at  play  is  finer  and 
more  desirable  than  that  guarded  by  '^Keep-off- 
the-grass"  signs. 

But  both  are  never  quite  impossible.  Even  in 
cities  with  paved  courts,  ivy  may  grow  upon 
brick  walls,  veiling  them  with  life,  a  life  that 
weaves  a  fresh  pattern  every  spring  and  a  more 
richly  colored  one  every  fall.  And  in  the  smallest 
yard  there  is  room  for  one  tree  at  least,  one  colony 

3 


ART  EDUCATION 

of  active  tenants  working  wonders  in  handicraft 
—  buds,  leaves,  blossoms,  fruit,  for  the  delight 
of  seeing  eyes.  Perhaps  room  cannot  be  found 
upon  the  ground  for  even  one  flower  garden;  but 
room  can  always  be  found  in  the  windows.  If  the 
janitor  is  such  an  ogre  that  window  gardens 
cannot  thrive  inside  the  schoolroom,  for  six 
months  at  least  they  can  thrive  outside  the 
window.  Nature  will  be  gracious  to  them.  One 
of  the  delights  in  German  cities  is  the  loveli- 
ness of  the  window-gardens.  The  best  of  these 
are  often  in  the  civic  buildings,  the  city  hall, 
the  court-house,  the  police  station,  the  public 
school. 

Boxes  of  wood  made  to  fit  the  window-ledge, 
and  lined  with  zinc,  or  better,  with  copper,  to 
retain  moisture,  and  painted  to  harmonize  with 
the  colors  of  the  building,  may  become  a  source 
of  delight  to  the  children  and  to  the  pubhc. 
Planning  the  boxes,  measuring,  estimating,  mak- 
ing the  wooden  part,  ordering  the  lining  (if  it 
cannot  be  produced  at  school),  painting  the  boxes, 
learning  how  to  fill  them,  plant  them,  care  for 
them,  and  how  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of 
4 


THE  SCHOOL  ESTATE  A  FACTOR 

enjoyment  out  of  what  they  produce,  —  these 
activities  constitute  a  series  of  first-class  exercises 
having  art-educational  value. 

If  the  school  lot  is  extensive,  and  lawns  and 
gardens  are  possible,  they  should  be  cared  for  by 
the  children,  under  supervision. 

We  forget  that  in  forty  years  the  children  now 
in  school  will  be  the  owners  of  the  town.  Ought 
the  town  of  that  day  to  be  a  place  of  parks  and 
boulevards,  of  handsome  civic  buildings,  attrac- 
tive places  of  business,  and  delightful  homes? 
Then  the  children  in  the  schools  now  must  be  led 
to  feel  that  they  are  already  citizens  of  the  town 
beautiful,  cooperating  factors  in  producing  ideal 
conditions  everywhere,  beginning  in  the  yard  of 
their  own  school.  The  making  of  a  plan  of  the 
grounds  to  scale,  the  location  of  the  grass-plots, 
walks,  and  gardens,  the  preparation  of  the  soil, 
the  ordering  of  the  shrubs  and  seeds,  the  planting 
of  these,  the  care  of  the  growing  things,  are  all 
art-educational  projects.  Moreover  the  offering 
of  a  half-hour  outdoors  for  mowing  the  lawn  or 
weeding  the  garden  would  do  more  to  stimulate 
the  mental  activities  of  certain  pupils  indoors 
5 


ART  EDUCATION 

than  would  a  bunch  of  birch  twigs  brought  into 
the  schoolroom. 

The  point  is  that  a  good  school  building,  hap- 
pily at  home  in  its  well-cared-for  lot,  gives  the 
children  an  ideal  with  which  to  compare  their 
own  homes  and  begins  to  develop  taste;  and  that 
participation  in  the  production  and  conduct  of 
such  a  thing  means  the  doing  of  something  worth 
while  with  reference  to  a  standard  of  excellence, 
and  makes  for  skill. 


Ill 

THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

The  ideal  schoolroom  for  a  kindergarten  or  first 
primary  grade  is  large,  well  lighted,  with  an 
agreeable  soft  color  upon  the  walls.  It  is  properly 
heated  and  ventilated,  and  has  in  addition  a 
place  for  an  open  fire,  an  aquarium,  a  canary 
bird,  a  window  garden,  and  a  piano.  A  few  well- 
chosen  casts  and  pictures  adorn  the  walls.  A  case 
of  accessible  books,  a  cabinet  of  illustrative  mate- 
rial, and  a  supply-closet  are  also  essential.  The 
furniture  includes  a  sand-table  and  a  work  bench. 
In  the  upper  grades  some  of  these  things  can  be 
dispensed  with,  and  other  things  must  be  added. 
In  every  grade  the  ideal  is  a  handsome,  conven- 
ient workroom,  so  well  designed,  so  perfectly 
cared-for,  that  its  every  element  is  delightful 
and  educational  to  the  children  of  that  grade. 

Little  children  ought  to  feel  all  that  an  open 
fire  can  give  on  a  dull,  chill  day  when  rain  is 
falling  or  snow  is   driving.  Whittier's    '^Snow- 

7 


ART  EDUCATION 

Bound/'  and  many  another  choice  bit  of  litera- 
ture will  then  mean  more  to  them.  They  ought 
to  hear  the  sweet,  joyful  gush  of  melody  from  a 
canary's  throat,  and  see  the  bird  produce  it. 
Birds  and  bird  songs  and  good  music  of  every 
kind  will  seem  dearer  to  them  after  such  an 
experience  in  early  childhood.  An  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  life  history  of  a  few  flowers, 
the  handling  of  a  few  choice  books,  familiarity 
with  a  few  of  the  best  works  of  fine  art,  each  year 
in  school,  are  all  illuminating  and  potent  experi- 
ences which  every  child  should  have.  The  oppor- 
tunity in  every  grade  for  children  to  express 
themselves  not  only  vocally,  but  manually,  is  an 
inalienable  right  that  must  not  be  denied.  In 
other  words,  the  schoolroom  should  furnish  ideals 
and  standards  of  excellence  in  everything  it 
involves. 

The  teacher  is  fortunate  who  has  an  ideal 
schoolroom;  but  perhaps  the  teacher  is  more 
fortunate  who  has  not,  for  the  opportunity  to 
produce  one  with  the  cooperation  of  the  children 
is  not  to  be  despised. 


8 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

A  favorable  school  equipment 

A  schoolroom  decorated  and  furnished  in  such 
a  way  that  its  equipment  and  appearance  are 
calculated  to  promote  the  growth  of  skill  and 
taste  can  be  achieved  in  any  community  by  any 
intelligent  and  persistent  teacher  who  has  won 
the  love  of  her  pupils.  To  such  a  teacher  all 
things  are  possible. 

The  elements  that  combine  to  produce  an 
interior  of  this  kind  are  the  colors  of  walls,  ceil- 
ing, and  woodwork,  the  wall  and  window  decora- 
tions, and  temporary  exhibits  of  various  kinds. 
These  may  well  be  considered  in  order. 

(i)  The  color  scheme.  The  color  scheme  of  a 
schoolroom  should  make  the  room  appear  at 
once  cheerful  and  restful.  This  effect  cannot  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  brilliant  hues  or  violent 
coarrasts  of  color. 

The  colors  selected  should  help  to  adjust  the 
light  which  enters  the  room  to  the  requirements 
of  the  eye.  If  the  room  is  flooded  with  direct 
sunhght  during  school  hours,  the  resulting  bril- 
liancy should  be  somewhat  reduced  by  the  use  of 
9 


ART  EDUCATION 

tones  of  dull  green  or  cool  grays  in  wall  and  ceil- 
ing. If  on  the  contrary  the  room  receives  no 
sunshine  while  in  use,  tints  of  yellow  and  orange, 
very  light  warm  grays,  should  be  used  to  give  a 
sunny  quality  to  the  interior.  In  such  a  room  the 
ceiling  should  be  an  ivory  or  cream  white  to 
reflect  as  much  warm  light  as  possible.  A  safe 
general  rule  is:  Always  make  ceilings  much 
lighter  than  walls,  but  of  a  hue  in  harmony  with 
them;  paint  the  woodwork  a  color  similar  to  that 
of  the  walls  but  slightly  darker.  If  the  finish  of  the 
room  be  "natural  wood,''  the  colors  of  the  walls 
must  be  modified  somewhat  to  bring  them  into 
harmony  with  the  finish;  or  the  finish  may  be 
modified  in  color  by  means  of  stains,  to  fit  into 
any  desired  color  scheme. 

The  one  thing  to  remember  is  that  a  fine 
interior  always  has  a  definite  tone  of  its  own. 
It  impresses  the  eye  as  being  an  orange,  a  yellov/, 
a  green-yellow,  a  green,  or  a  blue-green  room.^ 

^  These  terms  suggest  more  intense  colors  than  any  school- 
room should  present.  They  are  the  names  of  the  key  colors, 
the  colors  that  when  mixed  with  white  and  other  pigments 
produce  soft  grays  of  different  hues.  These  hues  may  be  dis- 
tinguished from  one  aaother  in  common  speech  by  such  terms 

10 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

If  the  room  receives  a  large  amount  of  light,  the 
whole  scheme  of  color  may  be  darker  than  in  a 
moderately  lighted  room.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  room  is  not  well  lighted,  the  color  scheme 
must  be  very  light  in  tone. 

The  best  medium  for  schoolrooms  is  oil  color, 
flat  finished;  that  is,  treated  in  such  a  way  that 
when  dry  the  paint  does  not  have  a  glassy  sur- 
face. Surfaces  thus  colored  may  be  washed  when- 
ever necessary. 

For  the  windows  an  easily  adjustable,  sanitary, 
and  durable  shade  is  the  best.  If  "Venetian 
blinds"  are  used,  one  side  may  be  painted  a  color 
to  harmonize  with  the  building  as  seen  from  the 
outside,  and  the  other  a  color  to  harmonize  with 
the  walls  of  the  room  as  seen  from  within.  If 
"roller  shades"  have  to  be  used,  they  should  be 
selected  by  experiment  with  great  care.  A  shade 
of  the  wrong  color,  when  the  sunlight  strikes  it, 
may  neutralize  or  overpower  the  whole  color 
scheme  of  the  room. 

as  yellow-gray,  green-gray,  etc.  In  more  technical  language 
the  colors  may  be  described  as  hues  of  one  quarter  intensity 
or  less. 

II 


ART  EDUCATION 

The  furniture  for  a  new  building  can  be  had  ir; 
any  desired  color,  and  should  be  ordered  toned 
according  to  architects'  specifications.  In  an  old 
building  the  color  of  the  furniture  may  have  to 
be  ignored,  unless  it  is  too  bad.  Then  it  can  be 
scraped  off,  and  the  wood  stained  and  repolished. 
In  color  the  furniture  should  be  related  to  the 
walls  by  similarity  or  contrast,  but  as  dark  as  the 
finish  of  the  room  or  even  darker  in  tone. 

If  a  schoolroom  is  ugly  and  gloomy  in  effect, 
and  the  school  authorities  are  apathetic  or  pov- 
erty-stricken, a  determined  teacher  may  repeat 
history  by  appealing  directly  to  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  the  school  children.  A  perfectly  defin- 
ite plan  of  what  is  required,  tactful  requests  to 
some  for  "moral  support,"  to  others  for  money 
to  purchase  materials,  and  to  still  others  for  work, 
will  be  sure  to  be  successful.  A  popular  teacher 
has  seldom  if  ever  failed  to  secure  from  his  dis- 
trict anything  he  has  desired  for  his  schoolroom 
when  he  has  asked  in  the  name  of  the  children. 

(2)  Wall  decorations.  The  walls  of  the  school- 
room should  be  enriched  with  works  of  fine  art. 
These  should  be  chosen  with  reference  to  the 
12 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

grade  of  the  children  who  are  to  occupy  the 
room,  and  with  reference  to  the  wall  spaces  and 
the  amount  and  direction  of  the  light  they  re- 
ceive. These  decorations  are  usually  pictures  or 
casts,  or  both. 

The  first  step  is  to  decide  what  decoration  the 
room  requires.  Whatever  is  added  should  enhance 
the  beauty  of  the  room.  This  means  that  every- 
thing must  appear  to  be  *^made  for  the  place,"  — 
not  too  large,  not  too  small,  properly  lighted, 
and  effective  as  seen  from  the  seats. 

The  most  important  place  in  the  room  is  of 
course  the  wall  directly  in  front  of  the  seated 
children.  This  wall  is  usually  without  windows 
and  well  Kghted  from  the  side.  Here  the  chief 
decoration  should  be  located.  One  large  beauti- 
ful picture  or  cast  in  a  given  area  is  better,  as  a 
rule,  than  many  small  ones.  If  more  than  one 
seems  desirable,  all  the  elements  upon  the  wall 
should  form  a  pleasing  group,  with  the  central 
element  dominant. 

A  receipt  for  decorating  schoolrooms  cannot  be 
given.  Each  room  presents  a  unique  problem,  to 
be  successfully  solved  only  by  a  person  of  taste; 

13 


ART  EDUCATION 

but  certain  general  statements  may  be  made 
which  in  every  case  will  be  worth  considering, 
(i)  Narrow  spaces  between  windows  are  not 
good  places  for  pictures,  or  casts  in  low  relief. 
(2)  Casts  in  relief  demand  a  strong  side  light. 
The  lower  the  relief  the  more  oblique  the  light 
should  be.  (3)  A  picture  presenting  but  slight 
contrasts  of  light  and  dark  demands  more  light 
than  a  picture  presenting  strong  contrasts.  The 
most  brilliant  picture  may  therefore  be  hung  on 
the  darkest  wall.  (4)  The  mat  or  frame  of  a 
picture  should  be  in  harmony  with  the  picture, 
and  of  a  value  darker  than  the  strongest  lights 
of  the  picture  and  lighter  than  its  strongest  darks. 
If  both  mat  and  frame  are  desirable,  the  frame 
should  be  darker  than  the  mat.  (5)  Casts  should 
be  framed  into  the  wall  or  so  installed  that  they 
appear  vitally  related  in  some  way  to  the  wall 
itself.  (6)  Pictures  should  be  as  closely  related 
to  the  wall  as  possible.  They  should  not  rest  upon 
the  top  rail  of  the  blackboard  and  tilt  forward 
into  the  room.  If  hung  by  vertical  wires  attached 
near  the  upper  corners  of  the  frame,  the  picture 
will  hang  nearly  flat  against  the  wall.  Perhaps 
14 


I 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

the  best  way  is  to  fasten  the  picture  flat  against 
the  wall  by  invisible  hangers. 

Having  determined  the  number,  the  size,  and 
the  kind  of  decorations  the  room  requires,  the 
next  step  is  to  select  the  subjects.  Here  again  no 
receipt  can  be  given.  One  rule  only  admits  of  no 
exception:  Whatever  the  subject  it  should  be  a 
work  of  fine  art.  From  among  the  many  pictures 
and  casts  of  recognized  merit,  selections  should 
be  made  appropriate  to  the  grade  or  purpose 
of  the  room.  Broadly  speaking,  little  children 
delight  in  pictures  of  animals,  of  children,  and 
of  home  Hfe.  Older  children  like  pictures  which 
show  people  at  work,  pictures  full  of  action,  pic- 
tures which  tell  stories  easily  read.  Later,  his- 
torical pictures,  and  pictures  which  express  a  sen- 
timent, a  mood,  an  aspiration,  are  more  likely 
to  be  appreciated.  Antique  fragments,  photo- 
graphs of  ruined  temples,  famous  views  of  historic 
sites,  do  not  appeal  to  children,  and  should  not  be 
forced  upon  them.  In  high  schools,  possibly  in 
upper-grade  grammar  schools,  children  should 
have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  pictures  which 
deal  with  the  deepest,  most  significant  experi- 
IS 


ART  EDUCATION 

ences  of  life,  —  pictures  like  "The  Soul  Between 
Doubt  and  Faith,"  by  Vedder;  "The  Tempta- 
tion,'' by  Cornicelius;  "He  Had  Great  Posses- 
sions," by  Watts;  "The  Golden  Stairs,"  by 
Burne- Jones;  "The  Great  Good  Book,"  by  Miss 
McChesney.  From  about  the  fourteenth  to  the 
eighteenth  year  occurs  one  of  the  most  critical 
periods  in  the  development  of  character.  It  is  the 
period  of  transition  from  the  childish  to  the  adult 
point  of  view.  Experiences  begin  to  take  on 
deeper  meaning,  ideals  begin  to  emerge,  decisions 
begin  to  assume  greater  importance;  frequently 
the  spirit  gets  oriented  for  life  during  this  period. 
Pictures  of  the  right  sort  have  been  known  to  be 
of  real  value  in  influencing  decisions  during  these 
critical  years.  Their  effect  in  some  cases  is  not 
immediate;  but  they  are  remembered  and  treas- 
ured and  have  their  fruitage  in  after  years.  As 
Emerson  says  in  his  "Ode  to  Beauty"  — 

"All  that's  good  and  great,  with  thee 
Works  in  close  conspiracy." 

If  faithful  colored  reproductions  of  masterpieces 

are  to  be  had,  they  are  more  delightful  to  the 

younger  children  than  pictures  in  black  and  white. 

i6 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

Many  of  the  modern  large-sized  color  prints  made 
especially  for  decorative  purposes  are  excellent. 
A  good  carbon  photograph,  or  other  facsimile 
reproduction  in  black  and  white,  is  preferable  to 
a  false  color  print,  and  for  some  subjects  is  ideal. 
As  a  rule  etchings  and  fine  engravings  are  out 
of  place  on  the  wall.  They  do  not  ** carry''  well 
enough  to  be  effective  from  a  distance.  They 
belong  in  the  reference  cabinet. 

If  casts  in  the  round  are  used  they  should  be 
located  with  reference  to  favorable  lighting,  the 
background  against  which  they  appear,  and  con- 
venience in  using  the  room.  They  should  not 
be  in  the  way,  nor  in  positions  which  seem  pre- 
carious. Usually  they  demand  a  well-designed 
pedestal  or  wall-shelf.  A  wall-shelf  supporting  a 
cast  should  appear  adequate.  The  solid  mass  of 
a  cast  does  not  look  well  supported  upon  a  thin- 
edged  shelf  with  cast-iron  brackets  beneath  it. 
The  effect  of  the  whole  should  be  consistently 
solid  throughout. 

Narrow  spaces  between  windows  may  some- 
times be  made  attractive  by  means  of  hanging 
pots  of  plants,  or  (if  the  room  is  to  be  used  at 
17 


ART  EDUCATION 

night)  by  small,  well-designed  fixtures  for  lights. 
The  danger  is  always  in  the  direction  of  over- 
decoration;  and  such  spaces  are  usually  better 
left  blank. 

In  a  favorable  schoolroom  the  attention  of  the 
children  should  be  directed  to  the  color  scheme 
and  the  decorations,  as  occasion  serves,  and 
reasons  should  be  educed  for  the  presence  of  the 
various  elements  and  their  interrelations.  The 
room  will  then  become  an  intelligible  object  les- 
son, a  recognized  standard  of  excellence,  in  the 
light  of  which  other  interiors  will  appear  as 
better  or  worse.  During  the  last  twenty-five  years 
more  than  a  million  dollars  has  been  ex- 
pended in  the  United  States  for  pictures  and  casts 
for  schoolroom  decoration.  Of  this  amount  prob- 
ably less  than  five  per  cent  has  come  from  the 
public  funds.  The  money  has  been  secured  from 
local  private  purses  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  enlightened  teachers. 

(3)  Temporary  exhibits.  The  development  of  taste 

and  skill  may  be  further  stimulated  by  means  of 

beautiful  things  placed  temporarily  on  exhibition 

in  the  schoolroom.  Among  these  are  flowers  and 

18 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

other  plant  forms;  vases  and  other  examples  of 
fine  craftsmanship. 

(4)  Flower  arrangements.  Children  love  flowers, 
and  in  the  country  especially  often  bring  them 
to  the  schoolroom.  Through  the  cooperation  of 
the  teacher  this  instinctive  activity  may  become 
the  source  of  perennial  delight  and  of  growth  in 
power  to  produce  beauty. 

A  place  should  be  reserved  —  upon  the  teach- 
er's desk,  or  on  a  stand,  or  shelf,  where  the  light 
falls  at  a  favorable  angle  —  for  the  display  of 
good  flower  arrangements  throughout  the  school 
year.  Such  arrangements  will  include  not  only 
"flowers''  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  all  the 
beautiful  decorative  material  the  plant  world 
affords.  When  school  opens  in  September,  the 
goldenrod  should  be  supplemented  with  the 
ripened  grasses  and  sedges,  and  sprays  of  berries. 
In  October  the  asters  and  the  ripened  leaves  of 
rich  color  should  appear  in  the  schoolroom.  In 
November,  sprays  of  seed-pods  and  of  the  late- 
fruiting  shrubs;  in  December,  sprays  of  the  ever- 
greens. During  the  other  .winter  months,  sprays 
from  bushes  and  trees  which  retain  seed-packs 

19 


ART  EDUCATION 

and  dried  leaves  will  furnish  bouquets  of  rare 
beauty.  All  these  should  be  selected  and 
arranged  with  the  utmost  care,  in  appropriate 
receptacles,  that  their  beauties  may  be  seen  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  children  should  cooperate 
in  this  to  the  fullest  possible  extent.  Some  teach- 
ers appoint  committees,  of  two  pupils  each,  to 
secure  and  arrange  bouquets  at  certain  times. 
Each  committee  must  be  able  to  give  good  reasons 
for  the  selection  of  the  vase  and  for  the  way  the 
sprays  are  adjusted  to  it,  both  as  to  form  and 
color.  In  the  early  spring  pots  of  crocuses,  hya- 
cinths, and  tulips  nurtured  by  the  children 
indoors  will  precede  the  bouquets  of  wild  flowers. 
Lastly,  in  April,  May,  and  Jime  will  appear 
sprays  of  the  blossoming  trees. 

The  children  should  be  led  to  see  the  wisdom 
of  certain  generalizations  concerning  flower 
arrangement:  (i)  A  group  should  be  limited  to 
one  kind  of  flower  and  its  foliage.^    (2)  Sprays 

1  This  is  a  rule  for  beginners.  If  two  kinds  are  used  the  rule 
is,  "  Each  the  other  adorning."  The  group  should  present  ele- 
ments which  contrast  with  one  another  and  yet  have  some- 
thing in  common.  For  example,  large  sprays  of  wild  roses  with 
meadow  rue.  The  "flowers"  of  the  rue  are  almost  like  the 

20 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

look  best  when  arranged  in  positions  which  sug- 
gest their  natural  growth.  (3)  Sprays  whose  chief 
beauty  is  the  beauty  of  color  may  be  massed; 
sprays  whose  chief  beauty  is  a  beauty  of  form 
should  not  be  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  that 
beauty  is  obscured/  (4)  The  receptacle  should 
not  vie  with  that  which  it  holds;  it  must  appear 
of  secondary  importance.  (5)  The  arrangement 
should  present  a  chief  center  of  interest  with  one 
or  more  subordinate  centers.  (6)  The  arrange- 
ment should  appear  to  be  balanced  rather  than 
bisymmetrical.  (7)  A  single  growing  plant,  brought 
to  perfection  of  form  by  human  skill  and  taste  is 
the  ideal  floral  decoration.^ 

stamens  of  the  roses  in  both  form  and  color,  and  therefore  in 
harmony  with  them.  Properly  grouped  with  the  roses,  they 
suggest  a  filmy  cloud  about  them,  like  a  bridal  veil. 

^  Pansies  and  peonies,  for  example,  are  color  plants.  Masses 
of  them  are  rich  and  splendid.  Easter  lilies  are /orm  plants.  A 
single  vigorous  flowering  stalk,  with  its  exquisitely  graceful 
leaves  and  flowers,  is  bouquet  enough.  The  finest  beauties  of 
lilies  are  lost  in  a  crowd. 

2  Left  to  itself  outdoors,  the  plant*s  aim  is  not  primarily 
beauty,  but  self-preservation  and  perpetuation  of  species.  To 
be  a  decorative  success,  usually  it  must  be  relieved  of  its  other 
responsibilities  and  instructed  by  man,  so  to  speak,  before  it 
can  realize  his  ideal  of  beauty  for  beauty's  own  sake.  But  fre- 

21 


ART  EDUCATION 

Exercises  in  floral  arrangement  are  capable  of 
jdelding  more  profitable  returns  with  a  majority 
of  pupils  than  exercises  in  original  design  with 
conventionalized  plant  forms. 

(5)  Mounted  pictures.  For  convenience  pictorial 
art  may  be  subdivided  as  "Illustrative  Art"  and 
"Fine  Art."  Illustrative  art  has  as  its  aim  the 
making  of  something  clearer,  more  vivid,  more 
attractive  than  it  would  otherwise  be.  It  exists 
for  the  sake  of  that  something.  Fine  art  has  as  its 
aim  beauty  —  "Its  own  excuse  for  being."  This 
classification  is  broad,  and  hardly  scientific;  for 
an  illustration  may  be  beautiful,  a  veritable  work 
of  fine  art,  like  Rubens's  "Descent  from  the 
Cross,"  in  Antwerp  Cathedral.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  works  of  fine  art  —  Rodin's  **John 
Baptist,"  for  example  —  are  not  beautiful  in  the 
ordinary  sense.  In  a  general  way,  however,  in 
illustration  the  story  is  of  first  importance;  in  fine 
art,  the  way  of  telling  the  story.  Illustration  corre- 

quently  a  plant  that  has  had  its  own  way  outdoors,  a  violet 
growing  in  an  open  pasture,  a  dandelion  amid  short  grass,  an 
isolated  clump  of  sedge,  when  transplanted  entire  into  a  proper 
receptacle,  will  present  an  arrangement  of  extraordinary 
beauty. 

22 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

spends  roughly  with  prose;  fine  art  with  poetry. 
Illustrations  are  to  be  consulted;  works  of  fine 
art  are  to  be  contemplated. 

Such  pictures  as  a  view  in  a  London  street  or 
in  a  harvest-field  in  Dakota;  a  portrait  of  the 
German  Emperor  or  of  Holmes;  a  photograph 
of  a  group  of  palm  trees  or  of  a  bouquet  of  prize 
roses,  come  under  the  head  of  "Illustrative  Art," 
and  should  be  kept  in  the  closet  for  occasional 
use.  Such  pictures  as  Corot's  "Spring,"  Alex- 
ander's "Walt  Whitman,"  a  garden  by  Maxfield 
Parrish,  or  a  fish  by  Jakuchiu,  are  works  of  fine 
art,  worthy  of  daily  companionship.  Such  pic- 
tures cannot  all  be  hung  permanently  upon  the 
walls  of  the  schoolroom.  They  may  be  included, 
however,  in  the  school's  collection  of  master- 
pieces. Such  a  collection  every  school  should 
acquire. 

The  making  of  a  school  picture  gallery  is  one 
of  the  most  delightful  art-educational  activities 
yet  discovered.  The  method  of  procedure  is  as 
follows:  — 

(a)  With  the  assistance  of  the  children  the 
teacher  begins  to  gather  sheets  of  cardboard, 


ART  EDUCATION 

any  size  and  any  color  —  white,  black,  brown, 
gray,  etc.  —  suitable  for  mounting  pictures. 

(h)  With  the  assistance  of  the  children,  the 
teacher  begins  to  gather  pictures  of  all  kinds. 
The  best  are  likely  to  come  from  the  current 
magazines,  from  the  advertising  literature  of 
book  publishers  and  picture  dealers,  and  from 
"art  publications."  ^ 

(c)  From  these  pictures  the  best,  the  most 
beautiful  in  composition  and  in  color,  are  selected, 
by  vote  of  the  children  (under  the  wise  guidance 
of  the  teacher),  for  the  school  gallery. 

(d)  The  selected  picture  is  carefully  trimmed  to 
its  edge,  or  to  within  a  sixteenth  inch  of  its  edge, 
and  tried  upon  various  sheets  of  cardboard  until 
the  one  is  discovered  upon  which  the  picture  ap- 
pears to  best  advantage.  One  picture  may  require 
a  light  mount,  another  a  dark  one;  one  may  look 
best  on  a  warm  gray,  another  on  a  cool  gray,  or  a 
green  gray.  As  a  general  rule  the  mount  should 
repeat  softly,  echo,  the  dominant  hue  of  the  pic- 

^  Good  reproductions  especially  prepared  for  schools  may 
be  purchased,  of  course.  In  any  case  the  children  should  have 
some  part  in  securing  them. 

24 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

ture  as  a  whole  or  of  some  important  color  in  it. 
But  sometimes  the  mount  should  contrast  with 
the  picture.  The  right  color  can  always  be  deter- 
mined by  experiment.  The  picture  is  the  song, 
the  mount  its  accompaniment.  The  two  should 
go  together  perfectly. 

{e)  Having  determined  the  color,  the  size  of 
the  mount  is  the  next  consideration.  Some  pic- 
tures demand  a  wide  mount,  some  a  narrow  one. 
This,  too,  can  be  determined  by  experiment.  The 
simplest  implements  are:  two  L's  of  gray  card- 
board about  12  by  15  inches  in  size.  With  one  of 
these  in  the  normal  position  (L)  and  the  other 
reversed  (T)  rectangles  of  any  shape  and  size 
(up  to  12  by  15  inches)  may  be  produced  at  will 
by  sHpping  one  over  the  other.  The  picture  to  be 
mounted  should  be  laid  on  the  selected  card- 
board, the  L's  placed  about  it,  and  moved  until 
the  most  flattering  size  and  shape  of  mount  is  dis- 
covered. A  vertical  picture,  a  picture  in  which  the 
height  exceeds  the  width,  demands  a  vertical 
mount:  a  horizontal  picture,  one  in  which  the 
width  exceeds  the  height,  demands  a  horizontal 
mount;  a  square  or  a  circular  picture  demands  a 

25 


ART  EDUCATION 

mount  nearly  square.  Owing  to  a  habit  of  the  eye 
which  demands  satisfaction,  the  width  of  the 
mount  at  the  top  of  the  picture  should  always  be 
less  than  the  width  of  the  mount  at  the  bottom 
of  the  picture. 

(/)  The  mount  should  now  be  cut  to  the  proper 
size,  and  the  picture  fastened  to  it,  in  the  pre- 
determined position,  by  means  of  good  paste  of 
some  sort.  The  paste  should  be  applied  along 
the  top  edge  or  upper  corners  only,  or  at  the  four 
corners,  or  all  over  the  back  of  the  print,  as  the 
print  seems  to  require.  The  less  paste  the  better, 
so  long  as  the  picture  lies  flat  and  is  securely 
fastened. 

(g)  The  name  of  the  picture,  the  name  of  the 
artist,  the  source  of  that  particular  print,  and 
such  other  information  as  may  seem  desirable, 
including  the  date,  should  be  written  plainly 
upon  the  back  of  the  moimt. 

The  growth  of  such  a  collection  will  be  gradual, 
but  the  pupils'  joy  therein  will  be  perennial. 

Upon  a  simple  easel  of  wood,  so  designed  that 
when  in  use  it  is  practically  invisible  (as  it  stands 
upon  the  teacher's  desk  or  the  exhibition  shelf), 
26 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

one  picture  from  the  school  gallery  should  be  on 
exhibition  every  day.  The  picture  for  the  day 
should  be  selected  for  some  good  reason.  It  may 
be  associated  with  the  season,  with  some  school 
topic,  with  some  local  event;  or  it  may  be  the  one 
best  loved  by  the  children  at  that  particular 
time  (their  tastes  often  change  rapidly),  or  one 
that  they  do  not  quite  understand  as  yet.  In  any 
case  it  should  be  the  subject  of  ^^warm  personal 
regard"  when  displayed;  otherwise  its  cultural 
value  is  likely  to  be  below  par. 

(6)  Exhibitions  of  handicraft.  In  every  commun- 
ity are  people  of  taste  in  whose  homes  are  small 
objects  of  rare  beauty  —  a  box  in  cloisonne  from 
Japan,  a  vase  of  bronze  from  China,  a  fan  of 
carved  wood  from  India,  a  Tanagra  statuette 
from  Greece,  a  bit  of  mosaic  from  Italy,  a  por- 
celain figurine  from  Germany,  a  hand-wrought 
jewel  from  France,  a  piece  of  lace  from  Belgium. 
A  teacher  of  established  reputation  can  always 
secure  such  objects  for  the  children  to  see.  The 
kind  of  people  who  care  for  such  things  are  the 
kind  of  people  who  are  always  glad  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  give  others,  especially  the  children,  the 
27 


ART  EDUCATION 

pleasure  of  seeing  them.  They  will  lend  one  object 
at  a  time,  for  a  single  day,  if  the  teacher  will  call 
for  it  and  return  it  safely.  More  fruitful  subjects 
for  genuine  art  education  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find.  The  research  work  in  geography  and  his- 
tory, the  study  of  materials,  and  processes,  pre- 
liminary to  an  intelligent  look  at  such  a  thing 
as  a  statuette  from  Herculaneum,  would  fill 
many  an  hour  with  vital  enthusiastic  educative 
activity. 

Here  again  the  wise  teacher  will  not  forget 
that 

"Heaven  is  not  reached  by  a  single  bound, 
But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  climb  to  its  summit  round  on  round." 

For  the  younger  children  a  quaint  toy  from 
Holland  is  better  than  a  Greek  vase;  and  a  gro- 
tesque idol  from  Peru,  a  far  more  profitable 
object  of  study  than  an  exquisite  ivory  from 
Japan. 

By  means  of  such  temporary  exhibits  of  flowers, 
pictures,  and  examples  of  fine  handicraft,  daily 
opportunities  may  be  presented  for  forming  intel- 
28 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

ligent  judgments  concerning  objects  of  beauty. 
Under  such  conditions  taste  will  often  develop 
with  surprising  rapidity,  and  aesthetic  enjoyment 
increase  like  the  light  of  a  new  day. 


IV 

SCHOOL  HOUSEKEEPING  A  FACTOR 

The  very  heart  of  beauty  is  order.  Order  is  pur- 
poseful arrangement.  The  school  grounds,  the 
schoolroom  and  its  furnishings  have  been  con- 
sidered as  exemplifying  a  purposeful  arrange- 
ment of  elements  with  reference  to  beauty.  Once 
established,  such  an  order  should  be  maintained 
by  the  cooperation  of  all  who  participate  in  the 
school  life.  Scratched  desks,  cut  woodwork,  lit- 
tered floors  and  lawns  are  incompatible  with 
beauty.  So  also  are  disorderly  desks  and  tables; 
drawers  and  cupboards.  The  teacher's  desk 
should  present  an  ideal  of  orderly  arrangement, 
such  as  may  be  reflected  in  the  desk  of  every 
pupil.  The  interior  of  a  drawer  or  cabinet  should 
present  as  fine  an  object  lesson.  In  the  school 
building,  at  least,  there  need  not  be  a  skeleton  in 
every  closet!  The  secret  of  satisfactory  order  lies 
in  the  word  "purposeful."  The  order  should  not 
be  artificial  and  arbitrary,  an  order  incompatible 
30 


SCHOOL  HOUSEKEEPING  A  FACTOR 

with  daily  use,  —  like  the  arrangement  of  books 
in  piles  across  the  four  corners  of  a  table.  It 
should  be  an  evidently  reasonable  order,  an  order 
which  facilitates  use  and  at  the  same  time  satis- 
fies a  refined  taste.  If  reference  books  for  the 
children  are  kept  upon  the  teacher's  desk,  for 
example,  they  should  be  placed  along  the  most 
easily  accessible  side,  in  a  row,  back  uppermost, 
and  held  by  the  rack  in  such  a  position  that  the 
titles  may  be  easily  read  by  the  children.  The 
book-rack  should  be  of  such  a  character  that  it 
not  only  holds  the  books  properly  but  harmonizes 
with  the  desk.  A  cast  upon  a  pedestal  is  not 
orderly  in  relation  to  the  rest  of  the  room  if  it  is 
in  the  way.  The  paths  across  the  school  groimds 
are  not  in  orderly  relation  unless  they  are  where 
the  children  need  them.  An  order  determined 
by  convenience  and  taste  is  the  only  aesthetic 
order.  The  thought  of  such  an  order  should  be- 
come habitual  in  the  mind  of  every  pupil. 


V 

SCHOOL  COSTUME  A  FACTOR 

In  every  schoolroom  the  teacher  is  the  supreme 
center  of  interest.  Not  a  peculiarity  of  manner, 
trick  of  speech,  or  habit  of  thought  escapes  the 
keen  compound  eye  of  the  school.  Hence  her 
standard  of  taste  is  sure  to  be  discovered  and 
to  become  a  potent  influence.  In  the  matter 
of  personal  appearance  the  teacher  should  be 
impeccable.  Cleanliness,  neatness,  a  becoming 
coiffure,  a  simple  costume  appropriate  to  her 
profession  and  in  right  relation  to  her  figure  and 
complexion,  are  absolutely  essential.  No  princi- 
ple of  composition  of  line,  no  theory  of  harmoni- 
ous coloring  should  be  violated  in  herself.  To  live 
one's  aesthetic  reUgion  is  a  duty  no  less  binding 
than  the  duty  to  live  one's  ethical  religion.  And 
the  fulfillment  of  this  duty  is  much  easier!  It 
requires  a  clear  perception  of  one's  own  excel- 
lencies or  defects  of  figure,  and  of  one's  natural 
scheme  of  color;  a  conviction  that  for  the  sake  of 
32 


SCHOOL  COSTUME  A  FACTOR 

the  neighbors  one  should  look  as  well  as  possible; 
and  a  determination  to  learn  what  is  personally 
becoming  in  cut  and  color,  and  to  adhere  to  that 
always. 

The  teacher  who  does  not  possess  a  knowledge 
of  what  is  personally  becoming  could  hardly  hope 
to  find  it  in  this  monograph.  The  knowledge 
should  be  acquired,  however,  and  applied,  not 
only  to  her  own  costume  but  indirectly  to  that 
of  her  pupils.  Schools  have  existed,  and  will  be 
common  one  of  these  days,  without  the  presence 
of  a  single  inharmoniously  dressed  pupil.  Any 
teacher  of  taste  and  tact  can  compass  such  a 
result  by  leading  her  pupils  to  apply  to  them- 
selves, from  first  year  to  last,  their  increasing 
knowledge  of  color  harmony.  A  hair-ribbon  or  a 
necktie,  a  frock  or  a  coat  can  be  right  in  color, 
regardless  of  cost.  To  secure  harmonious  rela- 
tions in  proportion  and  line  in  the  dress  of  pupils 
is  now  more  difficult.  But  the  teacher  can  at 
least  be  an  example  in  this  respect,  and  gradually 
lead  her  children  to  see  that  anything  in  a  cos- 
tume which  tends  to  call  attention  to  a  defect 
of  person  or  to  exaggerate  that  defect,  anything 
33 


ART  EDUCATION 

which  tends  to  center  interest  where  the  interest 
should  not  be  centered,  is  to  be  avoided.  A  good 
rule  is  this:  Dress  so  that  those  who  notice  your 
costume  will  think,  "How  becoming!"  and  no 
one  will  think,  *'How  expensive!" 


VI 

SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 

The  teacher  who  has  had  but  little  training  in 
drawing  can  do  much  to  promote  taste  and  skill 
through  the  ordinary  work  of  the  schoolroom. 

She  can  lead  her  pupils  to  think  of  appropriate 
means  of  expression.  A  lead  pencil  and  inexpen- 
sive, unglazed  paper  are  best  for  certain  exer- 
cises; a  pen  and  smooth  paper  for  others;  and  a 
brush  with  ink  or  water-color  for  still  others. 
Sometimes  a  colored  crayon  will  express  the 
truth  about  some  particular  object  more  directly 
than  any  other  medium.  A  wise  choice  of  mate-] 
rials  with  reference  to  a  given  end  is  always  £^ 
step  in  the  direction  of  artistic  expression.         J 

The  teacher  can  insist  on  cleanliness  and  neat- 
ness of  appearance  in  all  school  papers.  Children 
often  take  an  interest  in  such  matters  when  they 
see  that  thumb-marks,  dog^s-ears,  blots,  and 
wrinkles  are  undesirable  simply  because  they 
mar  the  beauty  of  the  sheet.  The  orderly  arrange- 

35 


ART  EDUCATION 

ment  of  every  sheet  should  be  required.  Proper 
margins  at  left  and  right,  top  and  bottom,  and 
a  balanced  page,  with  the  emphasis  where  it 
belongs,  are  of  elementary  importance,  not  only 
in  drawing,  but  in  language  and  number  papers, 
letters,  and  essays.  What  is  worth  doing  at  all  is 
worth  doing  well. 

This  can  be  enforced  by  example,  through  the 
use  of  the  blackboards  by  the  teacher  herself. 
Blackboards  exist  for  use  daily  in  teaching.  They 
are  not  supposed  to  contain  elaborate  drawings 
and  designs,  made  more  elaborate  and  hideous  by 
means  of  colored  chalk,  preserved  from  term  to 
term.  One  small  board,  or  a  small  portion  of  a 
large  board,  if  not  needed  for  other  purposes,  may 
contain  the  school  calendar,  fresh  every  month, 
designed  and  drawn  by  one  of  the  children.  The 
honor  of  placing  this  calendar  on  the  board  should 
have  been  secured  by  winning  in  a  monthly  com- 
petition. But  other  designs,  such  as  a  portrait 
surroimded  by  American  flags,  and  crowned  with 
a  spread  eagle,  a  landscape,  a  bouquet  of  flowers 
in  color,  etc.,  should  not  be  allowed.  The  black- 
board should  not  seem  to  compete  with  the  works 

36 


SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 


y-AAyr^UL    y^j-OV^l    yVU't^  .'/l>Ce,.<:i-d~^.^:^-tAy7>tA,    ^tAl^o^yV . 

/t/u!  ..^vcrn-cd' AAJ^Auu   y-vt-^^iy^vixi^   o/    yy^  jL.^.iS-yt.'g^ 


^Ta<2/ 


^•'T'T^u^  ^^d-^^e-^/^tAjLOj    0->-iX     <Ci-»--i.-*7^  .X^Z^ 


"LlsX  J  jlA^-vbVv    vwnL/Vvkji   Vv»JLto  <Wv«JL      iir»«u  -vii.o-cA.'viLitjL/vvo  /oXcti 

Fig.  I. 

37 


ART  EDUCATION 


OjUjCJ  S  ««j-nrT.<xrO 


J-fu  i^hyni    of  OuarnqtUrni. 


imtdlxJ.  BJlihnLcumi,  Jjii  uk/lUJiImJ.  loJurrwicl 
pArundi PjiX,&vtdLan -hlA  laJi/^ uArJdch  utaji^ 
'jwryunuhal  xuf^Q-rdi  bi/rmXhi  udULuU  -  uJiih 

hnHAjOpLkamd 


JiJtDod  an  JM  JudU 
jthx  MLOu  ■  'jAimmtnTi 

.  a    ■ 

o-XTLmj. 

JLXL^XlJJl 


-it ^ 

PdjWLfmKl' 

■j-hifiondi 
iOLnAHdMjith 


_   --  J^ 

^^^^jjYi  JLhimmdnU): 
_  ^^~-'on  JLhJ  JbJUypic^JJu 

■  xtond. 
Atnod. 


hill,  LL/oo  Jihi  ujtU 


jayixAdidL 


dLtdLJ-yu-hcruJiL-bvyrn.  thi.JilD'inrui.  Htm  J 


Fig.  2. 


A  page  by  a  pupil  having  a  zeal  for  art  but  not  according 
to  knowledge. 

Margins  ill-considered;  page  confused;  initial  and  illustra- 
tion too  large;  title  too  small;  name  misplaced. 


38 


SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 


\JLttljLcb  cub    ^i<xjrrUAX&tAj-n-u  y  "tkjLj 

thjcuLMJu  ulhiAj  cmj 

fl'uruj  ijutXXAAJ 
JxJjUu  tJiJLAJU  uMJUU 

Lnru   ^UuCUjy\JuCU    JIJ/ 

OJ  muounnj  ULM2jyitjL<Lf 
t^-  u-lauJj  QjltuLOruL 
iJxju  GnnJyu  llmx/u  "to- 

AyCrtyt^  6^  up  -Aju  umAu  cmju  irp  tAju 
tuxJknpL  o'yiu^u  (M-A^  &ujnnjLcb     cu 

■yuy^AJL&curiJ^.     d?  h  uih<Lkj  rnjo^   uyrxy- 


Fig.  3. 

A  well-planned  page.  The  illustration  has  been  given  more 
space  than  it  required. 

39 


ART  EDUCATION 


THE.      BtRTHPLACE      OF     LINCOLN 


Ts  the  name  of  martx^red  Lincoln 
Calls  these  pictures -from  the  past. 

And  that  name  with  the  immortals 
Shall  eridare  while  earth  shall  last. 


Fig.  4. 

A  page  from  a  school  booklet.  A  consistent  bit  of  work. 
The  dotted  line  indicates  the  size  and  shape  of  the  leaf. 
The  broader  margin  at  the  left  allows  for  binding.  The  illus- 
tration is  drawn  in  such  a  way  that  it  has  a  gray  effect  in 
harmony  with  the  effect  produced  by  the  text.  It  does  not 
appear  as  a  black  spot,  like  the  illustration  in  page  38. 


40 


SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 

of  art  upon  the  walls!  The  blackboard  is  for 
rapid  illustrative  sketches,  erased  as  soon  as  their 
immediate  usefulness  has  passed,  and  for  written 
directions,  questions,  topics,  and  problems  for  the 
day.  These  should  be  well  written  and  well 
spaced  as  perpetual  reminders  of  what  is  ex- 
pected from  pupils.  Slovenly  boards  will  be 
reflected  in  slovenly  papers.  By  their  work  the 
pupils  will  unconsciously  quotd^merson:  "What 
you  J(?,"  said  the  seer,  "  speaks  so  loudly,  I  cannot \ 
hear  what  you  say." 

Several  differences  between  careless  and 
thoughtful  written  work  are  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
The  sheet  at  the  top  has  a  margin  at  one  edge  for 
binding,  so  it  is  affirmed.  The  other  edge  has  no 
margin.  The  arrangement  of  matter,  not  ger- 
mane to  the  subject,  at  the  head  of  the  sheet  is 
confusing.  The  title  of  the  essay  is  not  evident. 
The  whole  sheet  is  unbalanced.  In  the  other 
sheet  balance  has  been  achieved.  The  title  of 
the  essay  is  isolated,  and  therefore  unmistakable. 
Name  and  grade  of  pupil  and  date  of  writing  are 
placed  as  unobtrusively  as  possible  at  the  head 
of  the  paper.   Margins  at  left  and  right  are  equaL 

41 


ART   EDUCATION 

To  make  such  a  sheet  a  pupil  must  think.  He 
cannot  begin  on  the  first  line  and  go  on  heed- 
lessly until  the  paper  is  solid  full.  The  making 
of  such  a  sheet  is  a  problem  in  design. 

If  a  sheet  is  not  to  be  bound,  extra  width  of 
space  for  binding  should  not  be  reserved.  The 
name,  grade,  and  date,  if  they  must  come  first, 
would  better  be  smaller  or  in  another  color.  A 
better  heading  would  be  thus:  — 

THE  STATE  OF  MAINE 

By  Harold  Green 

Longfellow  School,  Belfast,  Gr.  VIII 

Such  an  arrangement  conforms  with  current 
practice  outside  the  schoolroom,  and  is  therefore 
less  pedantic. 

Figs.  2  and  3  give  contrasting  pages  from 
school  booklets.  The  first  is  disorderly.  The 
author's  name  belongs  on  the  title-page.  The 
initial  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  handwriting. 
The  illustration  is  too  large  to  be  used  in  the  text. 
The  arrangement  of  the  text  with  reference  to  the 
picture  is  puzzling.  The  margins  are  absurd.  In 
the  second,  forethought  and  good  sense,  and 
.42 


SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 

therefore  good  taste,  are  obvious.  The  illustra- 
tion is  too  black,  but  that  is  due  to  the  reproduc- 
tion. 

Fig.  4  is  from  another  booklet  by  a  grammar- 
grade  pupil.  This  booklet  was  made  up  almost 
wholly  of  quotations  from  Lincoln  and  of  tributes 
to  him.  A  more  formal  hand  than  the  pupil's 
ordinary  writing  was  therefore  appropriate.  The 
arrangement  reflects  a  degree  of  taste  and  skill 
highly  creditable  to  an  eighth-grade  boy.  The 
verse  has  the  proper  form.  The  title  of  the  pic- 
ture and  the  name  of  the  author  quoted  are  in 
small  capitals,  hence  instantly  distinguishable 
from  the  text.  The  picture  is  rendered  so  simply 
that  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  writing.  It  does 
not  appear  as  a  dark,  obtrusive  spot,  like  the 
illustrations  upon  the  pages  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
The  margins  are  well  related  to  the  matter  and 
to  the  page  (whose  extent  is  indicated  by  the 
dotted  lines).  For  every  kind  of  paper  produced 
in  connection  with  school  topics,  there  is  an 
appropriate  and  tasteful  form.  That  form  should 
be  the  quest  of  both  teacher  and  pupil.  That 
quest  is  not  promoted  by  ruled  writing-paper, 

43 


ART  EDUCATION 

readymade  notebooks,  and  sheets  cut  6  by  9.  It 
is  promoted  by  a  stock  of  various  kinds  of  paper, 
of  dijfferent  colors  and  textures,  in  sheets  of  stand- 
ard commercial  sizes,  that  children  may  have 
the  invaluable  training  afforded  by  forecasting 
what  they  may  need,  by  getting  out  stock,  by 
working  according  to  plan  and  specification,  and 
by  realizing  their  own  ideals  while  still  in  school. 
Such  an  experience,  oft  repeated,  is  good  prepara- 
tion for  life  outside  the  schoolroom. 
f  Tableaux,  the  folk  dance,  the  drama,  and 
the  festival  in  school  life  should  be  welcomed 
by  every  lover  of  beauty,  for  they  offer  unprec- 
edented opportunities  for  the  most  intensive 
training  in  art  and  craft  in  a  field  which  cap- 
tivates boys  and  girls  and  incites  them  to  high 
endeavor. 


VII 

SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

Under  ideal  conditions,  could  they  be  brought 
about,  specific  instruction  in  visualizing,  com- 
posing, drawing,  coloring,  constructing,  and  per- 
fecting technique,  would  be  given  by  the  teacher 
in  connection  with  every  school  topic  involving 
any  of  these  elements.  Such  a  thing  as  a  course 
of  study  in  art  would  exist  only  as  a  permanent 
state  of  mind  in  the  teacher.  It  would  be  like 
her  unwritten  course  of  study  in  conduct,  —  a 
body  of  habitual  practices,  based  consciously  or 
otherwise  on  principles  of  action,  to  be  established 
in  the  daily  life  of  her  pupils,  not  so  much  by 
precept  as  by  example.  But  a  permanent  state 
of  mind  of  the  right  sort  —  combining  habitual 
alertness  toward  the  reports  of  our  senses,  with 
fine  reactions  upon  the  data  they  furnish  —  is 
not  likely  to  exist  in  an  uninstructed  person.  The 
body  of  knowledge  must  be  there,  however 
acquired.  It  may  be  for  the  most  part  subcon- 

45 


ART  EDUCATION 

scious,  but  there  it  must  be,  like  the  beating 
heart,  influencing  every  action  every  day.  More- 
over, in  the  teacher  the  clearer  the  consciousness 
of  this  body  of  knowledge  the  better.  (Her  pupils 

rcannot  acquire  such  a  body  of  knowledge  all  at 
once.   If  they  acquire  it  at  all  it  will  be  by  the 

I  ancient  method.  *^  Precept  must  be  upon  precept, 
precept  upon  precept;  line  upon  line,  line  upon 
line:  here  a  little  and  there  a  little."  Only  the 
teacher  under  whose  eye  the  whole  realm  lies  clear 
will  have  the  wisdom  to  know  which  precept  to 
lay  to-day  upon  the  precept  of  yesterday,  or 
which  line  to  add  to-day  to  the  line  of  yesterday, 
that  the  paths  for  thought's  hurrying  feet  may 
lead  to  rightness  and  to  peace. 

A  rough  survey  of  the  body  of  knowledge  in 
art  education  will  be  helpful,  although  that  sur- 
vey be  inaccurate  and  incomplete.  The  fact  is, 
the  realm  is  not  yet  fully  known.  The  map  reads 
"Unexplored  Region"  in  several  places,  and  the 
*^ Great  American  Desert"  and  the  "Mountains 
of  the  Moon"  still  exist  thereon! 

But,  laying  the  figure  aside,  specific  instruction 
in  art  education  in  the  elementary  schools  may 

46 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

be  considered,  for  convenience,  under  five  heads: 
Color,  Plant  Drawing  (including  decorative 
arrangement).  Object  Drawing,  Design,  and 
Construction  (including  geometric  or  working 
drawings).  These  divisions  of  the  subject  are 
somewhat  arbitrary,  but  they  will  serve  the 
present  purpose.  Under  each  head  seven  sub- 
divisions appear.  These  indicate  approximately 
a  developmental  order  commensurate  with  a 
child's  growing  powers.  They  may  be  considered 
to  correspond  in  a  general  way  with  the  grades  of 
the  elementary  school.  To  be  sure,  the  grades 
vary  in  number  from  seven  in  some  systems  to 
nine  in  others,  the  average  being  eight.  The  sub- 
division into  seven  instead  of  eight  parts  is  made 
purposely  to  suggest  the  fact  that  arbitrary 
grading  is  undesirable,  even  were  it  possible,  and 
that  the  subject-matter  itself  should  not  be  too 
finely  sawed  and  split. 

Color 
Color  is  one  of  the  three  passwords  to  the  world  j  ^ 
beautiful.    The  second  is  Form,  and  the  third 
Arrangement.  ^ 

47 


ART  EDUCATION 

r  Here  the  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  de- 
i  velop  a  keenness  of  the  eye  for  color,  a  knowledge 
of  pleasing  combinations  of  colors,  and  skill  in 
producing  such  combinations. 
^An  orderly  procedure,  according  to  present 
knowledge,  seems  to  be  the  following:  — 

(i)  The  spectrum.  By  means  of  a  glass  prism 
the  richest  and  purest  color  unit  we  know  is 
thrown  upon  a  sheet  of  white  paper  on  the  school- 
room wall.  It  is  observed;  echoes  of  it,  in  the 
rainbow,  dewdrops,  fractured  ice,  glass,  flowers, 
fruits,  etc.,  are  recalled;  the  rainbow  stories  — 
''The  Flood,"  "Iris,''  "Bifrost,''  "The  Pot  of 
Gold,"  etc.,  are  told.  The  children  begin  to 
search  for  rainbow  colors,  collect  examples  of 
them,  and  learn  to  distinguish  five  typical  colors 
by  name,  —  red,  yellow,  green,  blue,  purple.^ 
They  discover  that  these  five  colors  may  be 
arranged  in  a  circuit  in  the  spectrum  order,  and 
they  learn  to  think  of  them  in  such  a  relation. 

^  For  this  advance,  the  division  of  the  spectrum  circuit  into 
five  key  colors  with  five  intermediate  complementary  hues,  we 
are  indebted  to  Mr.  Albert  H.  Munsell.  See  A  Color  Notation^ 
George  H.  Ellis,  Publisher,  Boston. 

48 


i 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

'  (2)  Typical  colors.  By  means  of  natural  ob- 
jects, colored  papers,  crayons,  and  water-colors, 
the  five  typical  colors,  their  names,  and  their 
spectrum  order  are  learned  thoroughly  as  the 
alphabet  of  color.  By  means  of  experiment  with 
water-colors  or  crayon  the  children  are  led  to 
choose  the  most  pleasing  tone  of  each  when  used 
to  color  a  simple  design  on  white  paper.  They 
find  that  the  most  intense  colors  are  not  always 
the  most  pleasing  and  that  subdued  colors  or 
"middle  colors"  are  found  most  frequently  in 
nature  and  in  common  objects.  They  discover 
that  usually  the  brilliant  colors  are  found  in 
small  quantities  only. 

(3)  Values  of  color.  By  experiment  with  water- 
colors  and  by  comparison  of  selected  examples 
the  children  learn  to  recognize  different  values 
of  one  color,  lighter  and  darker,  and  how  to  pro- 
duce them  by  the  thinning  of  the  pigment  with 
water,  or  by  adding  white  for  the  light  values, 
and  by  mixing  black  with  the  pigment  for  the 
dark  values.  They  learn  to  recognize  and  to 
produce  the  middle  red,  yellow,  green,  blue,  and 
purple,  and  a  light  and  dark  value  of  each.  By 

49 


ART  EDUCATION 

further  experiment  they  decide  the  most  pleasing 
combinations  of  two  values  of  one  color  in  a  given 
design.  They  are  led  to  see  that  the  two  values 
must  not  be  too  near  alike,  on  the  one  hand,  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  too  sharply  different.  Given 
a  sheet  of  colored  cover  paper,  for  example,  they 
are  required  to  produce  another  value  of  that 
same  color  that  will  look  well  upon  it  when  used 
as  a  booklet  cover.  Such  combinations  are  called 
monochromatic  harmonies. 

(4)  Hues  of  color.  By  observation  of  natural 
objects,  flowers,  leaves,  etc.,  and  examples  of 
printed  fabrics,  and  common  objects,  and  by 
experiment  with  water-colors,  the  children  are 
led  to  see  that  the  typical  colors  are  seldom  seen 
except  in  school.  The  greens  of  grass  and  of 
other  plants  are  usually  yellower  than  the  typical 
color  green;  the  reds  of  autumn  leaves  are  often 
yellower  than  the  typical  red,  or  sometimes  more 
purple  than  that  red.  These  varieties  of  a  color 
are  called  its  hues.  Red  is  now  seen  to  be  a  family 
name  like  Smith  or  Jones;  and  Purplish  Red, 
Yellowish  Red,  etc.,  thus  become  names  of  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  Red  family.  The  children 
50 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

now  discover  by  experiment  and  observation  two 
hues  of  color  which  look  well  when  combined  in 
a  given  design.  They  find  that  the  two  must  not 
be  too  much  alike,  nor  very  greatly  different; 
that  the  nearer  alike  in  hue,  the  more  they  must 
differ  in  value.  Given  a  sheet  of  colored  paper 
to  be  used  as  a  booklet  cover,  they  now  discover 
a  hue  of  that  color  which  will  look  well  upon  it. 
Such  groups  of  color  are  called  analogous  har- 
monies. 

(5)  Complementary  colors.  By  experiment  the 
children  are  led  to  see  that  certain  colors,  —  for 
example  a  typical  color  and  a  hue  directly  oppo- 
site in  the  pentagonal  circuit,  —  when  combined 
neutralize  each  other  and  produce  gray.  Such 
colors  are  said  to  be  complementary.  Five 
typical  pairs  of  such  colors  are  fixed  in  mind:  — 

Red      and  the  hue  midway  between  G  and  B  called  Blue-Green 

Yellow    "  "      "         "  "  B     "     P     "       Purple-Blue 

Green     "  "      "         "  *'  P     "     R     "      Red-Purple 

Blue        " '  "  R     "     Y     "       Yellow-Red 

Purple    "  "      "         "  "  Y     "     G     "       Green-Yellow 

By  experiment  with  these  five  pairs  of  com- 
plements children  are  led  to  see  that  pleasing 
combinations  of  color  may  be  produced  by  using 

SI 


ART  EDUCATION 

complementary  colors,  provided  their  relative 
areas  are  properly  adjusted.  One  must  be  domi- 
nant, giving  its  character  to  the  whole  design; 
the  two  must  not  vie  with  each  other  for  first 
place.  Such  combinations  are  called  comple- 
mentary harmonies. 

(6)  Chromas  or  intensities  of  color.  By  observa- 
tion and  experiment  the  children  are  now  led  to 
see  that  a  color  may  become  grayer  without  be- 
coming lighter  or  darker,  and  without  changing 
its  hue:  that  is,  its  chroma  may  change.  They 
discover  and  identify  colors  of  weak  chroma  in 
the  bark  of  shrubs,  in  the  earth,  in  polished  wood, 
in  textiles,  etc.,  and  learn  to  match  these  colors 
and  to  use  them  in  designs.  They  discover  that 
colors  of  weak  chroma,  when  combined  with 
small  areas  of  the  same  or  similar  colors  of  strong 
chroma,  form  pleasing  groups  of  harmonious 
color,  either  monochromatic,  or  analogous,  or 
complementary. 

(7)  Scales  of  color.  A  scale  of  colors  is  any 
orderly  sequence  of  equal  steps.  An  orderly 
sequence  from  white  through  one  color  to  black 
constitutes  a  scale  of  value,  or  a  monochromatic 

52 


SPEaFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

scale.  An  orderly  sequence  from  one  typical 
color  to  another  —  for  example,  from  red  to 
yellow  —  constitutes  a  scale  of  hues,  or  an  analo- 
gous scale.  An  orderly  sequence  from  one  color 
to  its  complementary  —  for  example,  from  blue 
to  yellow-red  through  gray  —  constitutes  a  scale 
of  chromas,  or  a  complementary  scale.  Such 
scales  (having  three  or  five  steps)  are  made  by 
the  children.  They  learn  that  the  richest  color 
harmonies  are  often  produced  by  the  use  of  a 
group  of  colors  from  a  monochromatic  or  analo- 
gous scale  combined  with  a  contrasting  color  or 
group  of  colors  from  the  opposite  side  of  the 
circuit:  for  example,  tones  from  a  monochromatic 
scale  of  purple  combined  with  green-yellow,  or  a 
neighboring  group  of  colors  or  tones  from  an 
analogous  scale  through  green  combined  with 
red-purple  or  group  of  neighboring  colors.  Such 
combinations  are  the  so-called  "Triads"  or 
complex  harmonies.  Such  harmonies  the  pupils 
try  to  produce  in  useful  objects. 

In  every  use  of  color  from  first  grade  to  eighth 
the  aim  should  be  well  defined.  sThe  pupil  shouldj 
know  what  he  is  trying  to  achieve)  In  color  as  in 
S3 


ART  EDUCATION 

f^every  (c)tker}phase  of  art  instruction,  taste  devel- 
/  ops  gradually  through  the  making  of  choices  with 
/  reference  to  some  ideal;  and  skill  through  doing 

/  things  with  reference  to  some  standard  of  excellence. 
Mere  playing  with  crayons  and  paints  will  not 

U  insure  progress,  j 

Plant  drawing 

Because  illustrative  material  in  this  realm  is 
always  available,  and  because  of  its  rich  educa- 
tional possibilities,  plant  drawing  as  the  natural 
accompaniment  of  nature  study  should  have  a 
large  place  in  the  program.  Here  more  easily  than 
elsewhere  children  can  be  taught  to  appreciate 
Form. 

(i)  Growth.  At  first,  before  the  color  sense  is 
highly  developed,  and  when  skill  of  hand  is  rudi- 
mentary, the  children  are  asked  to  select  the 
crayon  nearest  in  color  to  that  of  the  specimen  to 
be  drawn  —  a  stalk  of  grass,  let  us  say.  With  the 
green  crayon  they  try  to  show  how  the  grass  grew, 
—  straight  or  curved;  in  what  direction  the  leaf 
grew,  whether  it  is  wide  or  narrow;  and  what 
shape  the  head  is.  If  the  specimen  is  a  flower 
54 


SPEaFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

upon  its  stalk,  two  colors  of  crayon  are  selected, 
one  for  the  flower  and  one  for  the  foliage.  If 
characteristic  growth  and  typical  color  are 
expressed,  the  drawing  is  good. 

(2)  Proportions.  The  next  step  is  to  lead  the 
pupil  to  observe  a  little  more  carefully  the  rela- 
tions between  the  parts.  He  must  now  show  the 
relative  lengths  of  stems,  leaves,  etc.,  and  begin 
to  think  of  the  placing  of  the  drawing  upon  the 
sheet  so  that  the  whole  is  pleasing.  The  size  of 
the  drawing  must  be  happily  related  to  the  size 
of  the  sheet,  and  the  principal  part  of  the  drawing 
so  placed  that  the  relative  distances  from  it  to 
the  edges  of  the  sheet  are  agreeable  to  the 
eye. 

(3)  Colors.  The  aim  now  is  to  secure  drawings 
which  show,  in  addition  to  correct  growth,  and 
pleasing  proportions,  a  fidelity  in  coloring.  The 
hues  of  color  presented  in  petals,  stems,  leaves, 
etc.,  are  now  matched  as  closely  as  possible. 
Specific  color  takes  the  place  of  typical  color. 
The  children  search  for  variety  in  color,  and 
express  it  as  faithfully  as  possible  on  sheets  as 
well  arranged  as  possible. 


ART  EDUCATION 

(4)  Contours.  Having  searched  for  specific 
color,  the  search  for  specific  form  is  next  in  order. 
A  good  device  for  isolating  the  object  of  quest  is  a 
curtain  in  a  sunlit  window,  early  in  the  morning. 
If  a  spray  be  placed  in  a  vase  or  bottle,  in  direct 
sunlight,  and  the  window  shade  be  drawn  between 
the  observer  and  the  object,  the  shadow  of  the 
object  upon  the  curtain  will  show  in  silhouette 
the  exact  contours  of  all  the  parts,  unvexed  by 
detail.  Having  drawn  from  the  object  thus  re- 
duced to  two  dimensions,  the  pupil  can  more 
easily  make  such  a  reduction  himself  from  the 
object  direct.  He  approaches  the  object  with  an 
informed  eye,  an  eye  not  so  likely  to  be  surprised 
at  the  transformations  from  actual  shape  to 
apparent  contour  brought  about  by  foreshorten- 
ing. The  medium  should  be  the  brush,  first  with 
ink,  and  then  with  any  color  desired.  A  low  in- 
tensity of  the  typical  color  of  the  spray  is  a  good 
color  to  use,  together  with  a  very  delicate  tone  of 
the  same  color  used  as  a  background. 

(5)  Structure.  Attention  is  now  directed  to  the 
anatomy  of  the  plant.  Pupils  are  led  to  observe 
closely  the  details  of  growth.  How  stems  divide, 

S6 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

how  leaves  are  attached  to  stems,  how  bud  scales 
and  flower  petals  are  arranged,  and  how  leaf 
blades  spring  from  leaf  stalks.  Of  course  such 
things  have  not  been  wholly  disregarded  in  the 
earlier  work;  but  now  they  are  emphasized.  The 
free  rendering  of  plants  for  artistic  effect  is  im- 
possible except  on  the  sound  basis  of  knowledge 
of  the  actual  facts.  Such  study  yields  additional 
items  of  interest  for  use  in  decorative  arrange- 
ment, exempKfying  harmonies  of  color. 

(6)  Appearance,  The  next  step  leads  the  pupil 
to  appreciate  that  growth,  proportions,  colors, 
contours,  and  even  the  structure  itself,  when  the 
plant  is  regarded  as  a  whole,  may  appear  to  the 
eye  as  something  quite  different  from  what  they 
really  are.  A  curved  stem  may  appear  straight, 
a  broad  leaf  may  appear  narrow,  a  green  leaf 
catching  a  reflection  may  appear  blue,  an  odd 
contour  may  resolve  itself  into  leaves  and  flowers, 
details  of  structure  may  be  lost  in  a  glint  of  light. 
To  represent  successfully  the  appearance  of  even 
the  simplest  spray  requires  a  rather  mature  power 
of  observation  and  judgment,  and  a  good  deal  of 
skill.  The  facts  discovered  through  this  review  of 

57 


ART  EDUCATION 

the  plant  offer  hints  for  new  elements  and  combi- 
nations of  elements  in  design. 

(7)  Charm,  And  lastly  pupils  are  led  to  see 
that  each  kind  of  plant,  even  each  individual 
spray,  has  its  own  peculiar  charm.  It  may  be 
a  grace  of  gesture  (to  use  Ruskin's  phrase),  a 
refinement  of  line,  a  harmony  of  movement 
through  all  its  parts,  a  harmony  of  color,  a  sug- 
gestion of  delicacy,  strength,  wealth  of  detail,  or 
some  unnamable  quality  of  indefinable  loveliness. 
The  function  of  the  artist  is  to  discover  the  par- 
ticular kind  of  loveliness)  the  plaiit  displays'^  and 
to  bring  it  to  the  attention  of  those  who  love 
beauty.  This  calls  forth  all  his  resources.  He 
must,  with  taste  and  skill,  select,  compose,  ren- 
der, if  he  is  to  make  evident  to  others  the  beauty 
he  himself  sees  and  enjoys. 

In  every  grade  the  aim  should  be  sheets  which 
embody  the  particular  aspect  of  the  plant  under 
consideration,  with  all  the  taste  and  skill  the 
pupil  possesses  at  the  time.  In  size  and  shape,  in 
the  position  of  the  drawing  within  its  area,  in 
color,  in  every  detail  the  sheet  should  represent 
the  high-water  mark  of  the  pupil's  power.  The 

58 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

revision  of  the  sheet  by  clipping  and  mounting  is 
often  a  profitable  exercise  when  done  by  the  pupil 
under  the  direction  of  a  person  of  taste.  Both 
arrangement  and  color  effect  may  sometimes  be 
greatly  improved  in  this  way.  Such  revision 
affords  another  opportunity  to  form  a  definite 
judgment  with  reference  to  an  ideal,  and  pro- 
motes skill. 

Object  drawing 

An  appreciation  of  Form,  as  the  second  key  to 
the  world  beautiful,  fostered  and  developed  as  it 
may  be  through  the  study  and  representation  of 
plant  forms,  will  not  reach  maturity  without  the 
aid  of  manufactured  objects.  Taking  hints  from 
nature,  man  has  developed  art.  The  skins  of  wild 
beasts  may  have  constituted  the  first  robes,  but 
in  process  of  time  they  were  supplanted  by  Vene- 
tian brocades.  Shells  and  gourds  have  been  dis- 
placed by  Vaphio  cups  and  Portland  vases.  Caves 
have  been  abandoned  for  Trianons.  Grottoes  are 
forgotten  in  the  dim  splendors  of  Westminster 
and  Notre  Dame.  The  path  to  the  place  where 
one  may  appreciate  these  masterpieces  of  art  is 

59 


ART  EDUCATION 

called  by  various  names:  The  first  is  Scribble  and 
the  last  is  Painting.  When  children  enter  the 
pubKc  schools  they  have,  for  the  most  part,  left 
the  ill-defined  trail  through  the  underbrush,  — 
they  have  passed  the  Scribble  stage,  —  and  have 
emerged  into  the  footpath  called  Imaginative 
Drawing,  which  in  time  becomes  the  road  to  Illus- 
tration, and  the  king's  highway  to  Fine  Art. 

The  stages  through  which  one  must  pass  in 
learning  to  draw  the  appearance  of  common 
objects  seem  to  be  the  following:  — 

(i)  Imaginative  drawing.  In  this  stage,  the 
little  artist  is  hardly  more  hampered  by  facts 
than  when  in  the  Scribble  stage;  and  yet  there  is 
a  difference  between  the  two.  In  Scribble  the 
few  lines  which  for  the  child  may  have  had  signi- 
ficance at  first  are  confused  with  other  lines  with- 
out pictorial  significance,  —  just  marks,  —  made, 
evidently,  for  the  pleasure  afforded  in  seeing  them 
appear  as  the  result  of  self-will.  We  never  wean 
ourselves  entirely  from  the  pleasure  derived  from 
being  the  cause.  From  the  deepest  dungeon  of 
the  heart  even  of  a  saint  where  self  lies  chained, 
there  ascends  upon  occasion  the  exultant  cry,  "/ 
60 


i 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

did  it  with  my  little  hatchet!"  But  in  imagina- 
tive drawing,  every  line  and  dot  is  significant;  it 
has  a  pictorial,  or,  more  strictly,  an  ideographic 
,  value.  It  represents  something,  even  though  it 
may  not  to  an  alien  eye  look  Uke  that  thing. 
Moreover,  in  this  stage  solidity  is  non-existent 
or  conveniently  transparent.  The  child  draws  the 
door-knob  on  the  outside  of  a  house,  and  the  hat 
hanging  on  a  peg  inside  the  house,  without  the 
sUghtest  embarrassment.  The  solid  wall  between 
is  a  baseless  fabric  in  his  particular  vision.  The 
result  is  amusing,  but  the  visuahzing  power  it 
represents  is  valuable  beyond  all  price.  It  should 
be  fostered  with  patient  care.  Usually  it  dies,  or 
is  allowed  to  die,  or  is  killed  by  ridicule.  It  must 
be  kept  alive  and  brought  to  maturity,  for  the 
possession  of  it  in  its  fullness  means  mastership 
in  the  realm  of  the  arts. 

The  aim  of  the  teacher  in  the  lower  and  pri- 
mary grades  should  be  to  encourage  free  story- 
telling by  means  of  drawing  of  this  kind;  to 
insist  that  every  line  and  dot  be  significant;  and 
gradually  to  lead  the  children  to  focus  their 
attention  more  sharply  on  a  few  selected  subjects, 
6i 


ART  EDUCATION 

with  the  determination  to  represent  them  more 
truthfully.  Coloring  should  be  realistic. 

(2)  Illustrative  drawing.  This  next  stage  is 
characterized  by  greater  though tfulness,  by  more 
careful  selection  of  subject-matter;  in  a  word,  by 
a  larger  use  of  the  constructive  imagination. 
Some  familiar  story  is  chosen,  involving  unfa- 
miliar objects.  For  example,  take  the  story  of 
"Little  Red  Riding  Hood."  To  tell  this  story  pic- 
torially,  how  many  scenes  must  be  presented? 
Certainly  two  at  least,  the  scene  in  the  wood 
where  the  little  girl  meets  the  wolf,  and  the  scene 
in  the  cottage  where  she  j&nds  the  wolf  in  bed  in 
the  place  of  grandmother.  In  the  earlier  stage  the 
child  was  called  upon  to  reproduce  objects  with 
which  he  had  had  to  do  in  his  own  personal  expe- 
riences. In  this  stage  he  is  required  to  image  a 
gloomier  forest  than  he  has  known,  a  wolf  that 
in  all  probability  he  has  never  seen  alive,  a  novel 
headdress  for  both  Red  Riding  Hood  and  her 
grandmother.  Moreover,  these  elements,  com- 
bined with  others  of  more  commonplace  charac- 
ter, must  be  so  grouped  that  the  story  will  be 
evident,  vividly  told  to  every  observer. 
62 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

The  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  develop 
clear  images  and  suggestive  groupings  of  the 
essential  objects  and  their  accessories.  Non- 
essentials should  be  eliminated.  The  child  should 
reah'ze  the  picture,  get  into  it,  walk  about  in  it, 
know  what  is  on  the  other  side  of  things,  and  have 
reasons  for  representing  this,  and  for  not  repre- 
senting that.  The  colors  used  should  be  chosen 
with  reference  to  one  another.  While  the  trees 
of  the  wood  and  the  blooming  plants  must  have 
green  leaves,  and  the  little  girl's  hood  must  be 
red,  a  red  may  be  selected  that  will  look  well  with 
the  green.  Emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  pro- 
portions. The  story  of  ^'  Goldilocks  and  the  Three 
Bears  "  is  an  excellent  subject  for  illustration  to 
give  practice  in  judging  and  recording  relative 
sizes. 

(3)  Silhouettes.  This  term  is  used  in  the  largest 
possible  sense,  to  include  not  merely  the  black 
shadows  of  objects,  but  all  picturing  of  objects 
without  special  regard  to  the  third  dimension.  A 
side  view  of  a  toy  horse,  for  example,  placed  at 
about  the  level  of  the  eye,  is  practically  a  silhou- 
'^tte,  though  represented  in  full  color  and  with 

63 


ART  EDUCATION 

considerable  fullness  of  detail.  The  pupil  is  en- 
couraged to  use  his  eyes ;  to  see  not  a  horse  but  this 
particular  horse;  to  see  his  true  porportions  and 
his  peculiar  characteristics.  Common  objects  are 
observed  to  discover  the  position  in  which  they 
exhibit  unmistakably  to  the  eye  their  true  char- 
acter. A  mug  turned  so  that  its  handle  is  not 
seen  might  be  mistaken  for  a  vase  of  some  kind; 
a  front  view  of  a  stepladder  would  not  clearly 
explain  itself.  Selecting  a  few  common  objects 
likely  to  be  of  use  in  story-telHng,  the  children 
draw  them  again  and  again,  using  different  medi- 
ums, crayon,  pencil,  water-colors,  until  their 
correct  proportions  can  be  recorded  and  have  been 
memorized.  The  children  thus  begin  to  collect 
reliable  images  of  things,  the  words  of  the  lan- 
guage of  graphic  expression. 

The  aim  should  be  the  expression  of  the  most 
important  facts  concerning  the  object  without 
wasting  time  and  material.  The  width  and  height 
of  a  water-pail,  for  instance,  and  the  number  and 
position  of  its  hoops,  are  more  important  than 
the  almost  invisible  cracks  between  the  staves. 
The  general  color  of  it  is  more  important  than 

64 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

the  markings  of  the  grain  of  the  wood,  or  the 
rivet-heads  of  the  hoops.  The  medium  chosen 
should  be  that  which,  in  each  particular  case, 
promises  to  express  most  directly  and  adequately 
the  essential  character  of  the  object.  The  easiest 
and  best  way  for  children  to  represent  a  tennis 
racket  would  be  to  use  a  pencil,  and  to  add  a 
wash  of  color  for  the  wooden  frame.  To  represent 
a  copper  kettle,  they  would  better  use  the  brush 
and  water-colors.  The  character  of  a  Teddybear 
can  be  expressed  most  easily  with  a  crayon. 

(4)  The  third  dimension.  While  this  has  not 
been  wholly  ignored  in  the  earlier  practice,  it  now 
assumes  first  importance.  The  children  learn  the 
three  essentials  in  a  picture:  ground,  object,  and 
background.  They  learn  to  think  into  the  picture 
with  assurance.  They  discover  the  various  effects 
of  distance:  {a)  that  the  farther  away,  or  into 
the  picture,  an  object  is,  the  smaller  it  appears; 
and  (6)  that  the  farther  away  it  is,  the  higher 
up  it  must  be  represented  on  the  paper;  and  also 
(c)  that  the  position  and  size  of  the  drawing, 
together  with  the  relative  areas  of  ground  and 
background,   determine   the   effect   which   the 


ART  EDUCATION 

picture  produces,  whether  pleasurable  or  other- 
wise. Spherical  objects  are  best  for  first  lessons 
in  suggesting  this  third  dimension,  for  they  pre- 
sent the  fewest  possible  difficulties  in  foreshorten- 
ing. Hemispherical  objects  are  next  in  degree  of 
difficulty. 

The  aim  should  be  the  truth  of  appearance  as 
to  size,  position,  and  character  of  each  object, 
and  beauty  of  space  relations  upon  the  sheet. 

As  in  the  previous  stage,  the  medium  of  repre- 
sentation should  be  thoughtfully  selected  to 
express  the  largest  truths  in  the  simplest  and 
most  effective  way. 

(s)  Foreshortening.  The  conquest  of  foreshort- 
ened surfaces  may  well  begin  with  the  study 
of  broad  leaves  seen  obliquely.  The  surprising 
forms  they  sometimes  assume  shock  the  pupil 
into  seeing.  Hemispherical  objects  may  well 
come  next,  and  then,  possibly,  rectihnear  objects, 
a  book,  for  example,  with  its  horizontal  edges 
running  directly  left  and  right,  rather  than  at  an 
oblique  angle  with  the  line  of  vision.  A  brush, 
with  two  tones  of  color,  one  light  and  one  dark, 
has  been  proved  to  be  a  good  medium  for  the 
66 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

earlier  lessons.  Cylindrical  objects  present  still 
further  complications,  in  that  the  upper  face  of 
such  an  object,  being  nearer  the  level  of  the  eye, 
presents  a  greater  amount  of  foreshortening  than 
the  lower  face,  a  part  only  of  the  boundary  of 
which  is  visible.  Rectilinear  objects  seen  at  an 
oblique  angle  present  the  most  difficulties. 

The  teacher's  aim  should  be  the  development 
of  perfectly  realized  visual  images  of  the  objects 
studied,  so  that  the  pupils  may  be  able  to  draw 
them  at  any  time  from  memory.  Through  con- 
stant practice  pupils  should  learn  (a)  that  the 
more  obliquely  a  face  is  seen,  the  more  it  is  fore- 
shortened and  the  narrower  it  appears;  (b)  that 
this  is  true  whether  such  faces  are  below,  above, 
to  the  left,  or  to  the  right  of  the  level  and  direct 
line  of  vision  of  the  eye;  and  (c)  that  the  long  axis 
of  a  foreshortened  circle,  such  as  the  face  of  a 
cylinder,  is  always  at  right  angles  with  the  axis 
of  the  cylinder.  The  pencil  is  the  best  medium 
for  later  studies  in  foreshortening.  When  the 
drawing  is  correct  it  may  be  treated  with  color, 
naturalistic  or  conventional,  but  always  to  pro- 
duce a  consistent  and  pleasing  picture. 

67 


ART  EDUCATION 

(6)  Convergence,  In  elementary  schools  me- 
chanical perspective  seems  to  be  out  of  place. 
Perhaps  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  pupils  to  know 
the  meaning  of  horizon  line,  vanishing  point,  or 
any  other  of  the  technical  terms  of  the  science  of 
perspective.  But  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  visu- 
alize completely  rectilinear  soUds  of  all  sorts,  and 
in  various  positions,  so  that  all  their  edges  are  as 
well  defined  to  the  mind's  eye  as  the  visible  edges 
are  to  the  sense  of  sight.  In  respect  to  solidity 
the  accomplished  draughtsman  has  become  as 
the  little  child.  The  soUd  is  transparent.  Every- 
thing is  seen  with  the  X-ray.  Devices  of  many 
kinds  have  been  invented  and  are  advocated  to 
assist  pupils  in  seeing  convergence;  but  in  all 
probability  the  best  device  is  practice  under  the 
guidance  of  somebody  who  can  draw.  Observing, 
imaging  clearly,  drawing,  and  comparing  with  the 
object;  asking  persistently  the  question,  ^^  Does  the 
drawing  look  like  the  object?  "  and  answering  that 
question  with  absolute  sincerity;  supplementing 
observation  with  reasoning  and  with  all  the  tests 
of  accuracy  available,  —  these  are  the  exercises 
which  lead  ultimately  to  power  in  deUneation. 
68 


i 


SPEaFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

The  aim  of  teaching  and  practice  should  be  to 
secure  the  conviction,  resulting  in  a  sort  of  auto- 
matic reaction  through  the  hand  (a)  that  recti- 
linear objects  present  three  sets  of  parallel  edges, 
one  setj^  two  sets,  or  all  three  sets  presenting, 
whenever  they  retreat  from  the  eye  in  any  direc- 
tion, the  phenomenon  of  convergence;  (6)  that 
the  degree  of  convergence  depends  upon  the  angle 
at  which  they  retreat;  and  (c)  that  retreating 
horizontal  edges  always  converge  toward  a  point 
at  the  level  of  the  eye  of  the  observer. 

Undoubtedly  the  pencil  is  the  best  medium  in 
which  to  make  studies  in  convergence.  Color 
may  be  added  when  the  drawing  is  correct. 

(7)  Suggestive  rendering.  Objects  present  to 
the  eye  other  effects  than  those  which  may  be 
classified  under  such  headings  as  Solidity,  Fore- 
shortening, and  Convergence.  A  block  of  wood 
appears  smooth,  a  hat  looks  soft,  a  glass  glitters, 
a  stone  looks  hard  and  rough.  Such  qualities 
cannot  be  represented  by  drawing,  in  the  sense 
that  a  foreshortened  surface  can  be  represented; 
but  they  can  be  suggested  by  the  technique,  the 
manner  in  which  the  medium  of  expression  is 

69 


ART  EDUCATION 

handled.  Suggestive  rendering  may  be  achieved 
in  elementary  schools  by  the  study  of  good 
examples,  drawings  made  by  an  artist  of  ability, 
and  especially  by  watching  such  a  person  draw, 
actually  producing  before  the  eyes  of  the  chil- 
dren the  desired  object.  The  power  to  repre- 
sent, even  to  a  slight  degree,  the  textures  of 
objects  adds  greatly  to  one's  delight  in  drawing, 
and  enhances  immeasurably  one's  capacity  for 
enjoying  the  works  of  the  masters  of  pictorial  art. 
TThe  aim  in  all  object- drawing  should  be  to 
develop  the  power  to  visualize,  to  see  clearly 
with  the  inner  eye  the  aspect  of  common  objects, 
and  to  develop  a  corresponding  power  to  portray 
such  objects  trutiifully.  At  some  time  almost 
every  adult  has  been  moved  to  exclaim,  ''How  I 
wish  I  could  draw!"  thus  bearing  testimony  to 
the  value  of  drawing  as  a  means  of  expression. 
Even  feeble  ability  to  make  use  of  this  graphic 
language  confers  a  certain  distinction  and  advan- 
tage upon  him  who  possesses  it,  in  any  trade  or 
profession;  and  the  practice  of  freehand  drawing 
heightens  one's  appreciation  of  pictorial  art  of 
every  sort. 

70 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

The  sheets  produced  by  pupils  in  every  grade 
should  represent  the  top-notch  of  their  ability. 
In  emphasis  of  subject,  in  thoughtful  placing  of 
the  object  with  reference  to  its  frame,  and  in 
appropriateness  of  handling,  each  drawing  should 
be  la  work  of  fine  art)  Such  work  (will  be  secured^) 
only  when  children  find  in  the  subject  something 
of  vital  interest,  are  sure  of  the  steps  which  lead 
to  successful  drawing,  are  inspired  by  those  who 
can  draw,  and  are  given  sufficient  time  to  practice 
the  art  until  the  eye  is  sure  and  the  hand  obe- 
dient. ^ 

Design 

The  third  key  to  the  world  beautiful  is  Arrange- 
ment. A  single  fish-scale,  whatever  beauty  of 
color  and  form  it  may  possess,  has  little  power  to 
awaken  an  aesthetic  emotion;  but  a  large  number 
of  scales  marshaled  in  orderly  ranks,  as  they 
appear  upon  the  body  of  the  fish,  does  awaken 
such  an  emotion.  A  single  crudely  drawn  black 
mark  has  no  beauty,  but  many  black  marks  made 
by  a  cunning  Greek  in  orderly  sequence  in  the 
form  of  a  fret  upon  the  body  of  his  vase  may 

71 


ART  EDUCATION 

awaken  the  liveliest  aesthetic  delight.  Wild-rose 
petals  fallen  in  the  grass  have  no  less  individual 
beauty  than  they  possessed  when  growing  upon 
the  rose-hip,  but  the  beauty  of  the  flower  they 
constituted  is  gone,  the  beauty  of  arrangement 
has  disappeared  .^Arrangement  in  its  largest  sense 
is  the  metho  J  of  creation  and  of  all  the  arts.  It 
may  be  described  as  an  evident  order  in  the  parts 
which  constitute  the  whole.  J  A  monotonous  order 
(A)  —  see  Fig.  5 — is  the  most  elementary.  A 
boy  running  with  a  stick  clattering  along  a  picket 
fence  delights  in  this  elemental  repetition.  It  con- 
stitutes the  primitive  basis  of  music,  and  is  the 
order  often  demanded  in  the  arts,  through  some 
sort  of  necessity;  as,  for  example,  in  a  ladder,  a 
tiled  floor,  or  a  chessboard.  The  accented  orders 
are  essentially  three:  The  double  movement  (B), 
the  basis  of  *^ march  time'';  the  triple  movement 
(C),  the  basis  of  "waltz  time";  and  the  pentuple 
movement  (D),  so  frequently  met  with  in  nature 
and  in  the  decorative  arts.  All  other  "times" 
are  derived  from  these  or  are  similar  to  these  in 
their  manifestations.  Upon  these  measures  the 
harmonies  of  the  world  arise.  To  these,  the  eyes 

72 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 


llillllllllll  lllilihlilililililt 

A  B 

lillillllliilllllllll    (lllnllhillli  lilii  lilli 


Illiillilii    lililillllljl 


iliii 


^^o^o^o\/    k 


^^'^sd^fe^V^  \M 


H 


J  illKllllMIIIIIIIUI 
K-illllfllllilllllilllil 


Fig.  5. 

A,  monotonous  repetition;  B,  march  time;  C,  waltz  time; 
D,  pen  tuple  time;  E  and  F  illustrate  the  importance  of 
spacing;  G,  H,  and  I,  the  importance  of  interrelation  of  line; 
J  and  K,  the  importance  of  orderly  sequence. 

73 


ART  EDUCATION 

of  the  children  should  be  opened,  that  they  may 

/see  the  music  of  nature  and  hear  the  *^ frozen 

'  music"  not  only  of  the  cathedrals,  but  of  our 

modern  architecture,  the  shrines  of  traded  An 

order  of  procedure  may  be  somewhat  as  follows: 

(i)  Repetition.  Children  already  know  the 
meaning  of  the^  word.  They  are  first  led  to  see 
repetition  in  things  about  them,  —  the  desks  in 
the  schoolroom,  the  trees  along  the  sidewalk,  the 
petals  of  a  flower.  They  produce  repetition  of 
blocks,  lentils,  dots,  marks.  The  regular  recur- 
rence of  the  elements  may  be  emphasized  by 
placing  to  music.  With  colored  crayons  the  chil- 
dren repeat  elements  to  make  borders  for  their 
paper  napkins,  their  number  papers,  nature 
studies,  etc.  The  aim  should  be  regularity,  uni- 
formity, perfect  order,  and  a  result  in  one  color 
with  a  neutral. 

(2)  Rhythm,  Rhythm  is  repetition  with  accent. 
The  simplest  form  of  it  is  alternation:  loud, 
soft;  loud,  soft;  or  long,  short;  long,  short;  or 
bright,  dull;  bright,  dull.  The  children  march  to 
music  and  without  music,  to  fix  the  idea.  The 
next  rhythm  is  that  of  one,  two,  three;  one,  two, 

74 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

three;  onCj  two,  three.  This  also  is  best  impressed 
by  means  of  music  and  movement.  The  third 
rhythmic  movement  is  not  often  heard  in  music, 
but  it  is  often  seen  in  objects.  It  is  best  illustrated 
in  the  hands.  Five  elements  appear  in  each,  with 
the  accented  one,  the  longest  finger,  in  the  center. 
The  children  find  the  same  rhythm  in  the  leaf  of 
a  wild  rose,  a  woodbine,  a  maple  leaf,  etc.  They 
look  for  all  these  rhythms  elsewhere  in  nature, 
and  produce  them  by  using  lines  and  other  ele- 
ments drawn  with  colored  pencils.  They  learn 
to  see  that  these  rhythms  occur  in  one  direction, 
forming  borders;  in  two  directions,  forming  sur- 
face patterns;  and  around  a  center,  forming 
rosettes.  They  make  use  of  these  kinds  of  orna- 
ment in  their  school  work,  particularly  their  con- 
structed work. 

The  aim  should  be  in  every  case  an  order  that 
gives  pleasure.  The  coloring  should  be  harmoni- 
ous. One  color  and  two  neutrals,  like  black  and 
red  on  a  white  or  manila  ground,  is  safe  and 
effective.  All  the  key  colors  present  great  possi- 
bilities in  such  combinations. 

(3)  Space  division.  The  next  step  is  to  lead 
75 


ART  EDUCATION 

the  pupil  to  see  that  in  an  alternation,  let  us  say 
a  flower  alternated  with  a  bud  in  a  border,  while 
the  alternation  itself  gives  pleasure,  the  intervals 
between  the  units  have  to  be  considered.  The 
spaces  are  elements  of  beauty  as  well  as  the  units. 
One  must  choose  whether  the  units  shall  be  far 
apart  (E)  or  near  together  (F).  The  same  is  true, 
and  more  evidently  true,  in  a  surface  pattern, 
and  in  a  rosette.  Moreover,  by  this  time  the 
pupil  is  old  enough  to  see  that  the  amount  of 
difference  between  the  long  and  the  short  in  a 
single  "measure''  is  important.  Where  ought  the 
cross-line  to  be  placed  in  an  "H'7  Where  should 
the  title  be  placed  on  a  book-cover?  How  much 
fringe  should  a  rug  have,  and  where  should  the 
bands  be  placed?  These,  and  many  other  prob- 
lems in  constructive  and  decorative  design,  afford 
opportunity  for  discrimination,  for  making  those 
judgments  with  reference  to  an  ideal  which 
develop  taste,  and  for  recording  preferences  in  a 
way  that  makes  for  skill.  The  aim  in  every  exer- 
cise should  be  space  divisions  which  give  pleasure, 
which  seem  unimprovable. 

(4)  Balance,    Having  considered  space  rela- 

76 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

tions,  pupils  are  ready  for  that  which  makes 
further  demands  upon  the  aesthetic  judgment, 
namely,  the  adjusting  of  attractions  to  secure 
balance.  Every  line,  angle,  spot,  space,  color, 
in  a  design  constitutes  an  attraction  for  the  eye; 
these  attractions  must  be  adjusted  to  give  a  sense 
of  repose,  stability,  finality,  to  the  arrangement, 
whatever  it  may  be.  There  are  two  possible 
adjustments  represented  by  the  pan-scale  and 
steelyard,  respectively:  the  bisymmetrical  and 
the  free  balance.  Classic  illustrations  of  these 
are  on  a  Byzantine  panel  and  a  Japanese  print. 
In  nature  a  butterfly  and  a  cockleshell  are  equally 
good  illustrations.  The  making  of  florettes, 
totems,  monograms,  and  symbohcal  devices  of 
all  sorts  appropriate  to  school  or  home  life, 
affords  ample  scope  for  design  at  this  stage. 

The  aim  should  be  perfect  balance  of  all  attrac- 
tions so  that  the  eye  is  satisfied  to  regard  the 
design  as  a  whole,  content  with  it  as  it  is,  assured 
that  each  part  is  of  the  right  shape  and  color, 
and  in  its  right  place,  at  peace  with  all  the  other 
elements  which  constitute  its  world. 

(s)  Adaptation.  Adaptation  is  the  better  word\ 

77 


ART  EDUCATION 

for  the  process  known  of  old  as  conventional- 
ization.  Conventionalization  has  acquired  a  re- 
stricted and  ugly  meaning  through  association 
with   devitalized   plant   forms.    Adaptation   is 
richer  in  its  connotations.   It  means  modifying 
,  anything  to  meet  conditions,  to  fulfill  definite 
(requirements.  A  flower  form  must  be  adapted  to 
the  cross-stitch,  for  example,  if  it  is  to  be  used 
in  that  kind  of  embroidery.  An  animal  form  —  a 
cat,  let  us  say  —  must  be  adapted  in  shape  to  fit 
a  circle  or  a  square,  and  in  detail  to  meet  the  con- 
ditions imposed  by  the  process  of  printing  in  one 
color  from  a  wooden  blockYAdaptation  includes 
Palso  the  fitting  of  a  thing  to  do  its  work  well,  the 
\  modification  of  the  parts  in  view  of  their  function 
!  or  use.]  The  nose  of  a  pitcher  must  be  adapted  to 
pouring  without  drooHng;  a  vane  must  be  adapted 
to  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  wind  and  those 
who  would  know  the  direction  thereof. 

The  aim  is  now  beauty  through  perfect  adapta- 
tion (in  addition  to  all  that  has  gone  before). 
A  given  result  should  impress  the  observer  as 
exhibiting  a  wise  choice  of  materials,  a  happy 
selection  of  motive,  a  cleverness  in  interpreting 

,78 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

the  natural  form  into  the  form  appropriate  to  the 
materials  used,  and  an  appropriate  scheme  of 
color. 

(6)  Interrelation.  A  row  of  units  does  not  con- 
stitute a  border;  the  units  must  be  fused;  the 
individual  unit  must  be  subordinate  to  the  group 
as  a  whole  (compare  G  and  H).  In  every  work  of 
art  the  same  law  holds.  The  whole  thing  must 
catch  and  hold  the  attention  first.  If  a  part  — 
a  unit,  a  space,  a  color  —  usurps  first  place,  the 
harmony  is  not  complete.  To  secure  perfect 
interrelation  of  parts  is  extremely  difficult.  The 
interrelation  itself  may  become  obtrusive,  and 
thus  defeat  its  purpose.  The  unity  of  a  white- 
oak  leaf  (I)  is  evident  and  charming.  It  is  secured 
through  repetition  of  convex  curves,  in  double 
measure,  on  a  basis  of  subtle  space  division,  and 
a  balance  that  seems  bisymmetric,  but  is  really 
free,  and  upon  a  secret  but  intimate  interrelation 
of  all  the  parts,  as  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines. 
Some  rough  approximation  to  all  this  must  be 
secured  in  decorative  art  that  units  may  become 
designs.  The  chief  interrelations  are:  (a)  simi- 
larity in  contours,  in  the  kind  of  curves  bounding 

79 


ART  EDUCATION 

the  units;  (b)  similarity  in  the  position  of  neigh- 
boring lines,  corresponding  with  rhyme  in  poetry; 
(c)  the  linking  together  of  certain  lines  by  so 
adjusting  one  to  another  that  the  eye  passes 
easily,  without  a  jolt,  from  one  element  of  the 
design  to  the  next.  This  corresponds  to  melody 
or  flow  in  music  and  poetry. 

"'Til  the  slant  yellow  beam 
Down  the  wood  aisle  doth  seem  — " 

is  poetry.  Sidney  Lanier's  line  is  in  triple  time 
and  possesses  a  melodious  flow  or  succession  of 
syllables,  as  diagrammed  at  (J). 

"Until  the  oblique  rays  of  sunlight 
Down  the  open  spaces  in  the  forest  appear  — " 

is  not  poetry.  It  lacks  interrelation  of  parts.  Its 
accented  and  unaccented  syllables  succeed  one 
another,  as  shown  at  (K),  without  evident  order, 
and  there  is  no  ease  of  movement  for  the  eye  in 
this,  as  there  is  none  for  the  tongue  or  for  the 
ear  in  the  order  of  the  words. 

Pleasing  interrelations  can  be  secured  only  by 
thoughtful  experiment.   They  are  so  important 
that  they  should  be  considered  at  the  very  outset 
80 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

in  planning  the  design  and  the  units  adapted  to 
them.  One  advantage  of  *^free  design,"  with 
*' abstract  spots"  as  units,  is,  that  beginning  with 
a  group  of  meaningless  spots,  by  means  of  experi- 
ments with  tracing-paper,  these  interrelations 
may  be  discovered.  The  design  may  be  built 
upon  them  without  any  consideration  of  such 
Kmitations  as  a  definite  area  to  be  filled,  a  given 
size  and  shape  of  repeat  to  be  used,  a  particular 
flower  shape  to  be  kept,  of  recognizable  form  and 
yet  adapted  to  the  conditions  imposed  by  a  cer- 
tain material  and  technique.  But  alas,  these  are 
the  perpetual  problems  of  the  practical  designer. 
They  cannot  be  ignored  in  effective  school  work. 

The  aim  in  designing  should  be  consistency  of 
pattern,  the  holding  together  of  all  the  elements, 
a  vital  whole  in  which  each  part  takes  its  own 
proper  place  in  relation  to  all  the  other  parts. 

(7)  Style,  Style  means  congruity  or  consistency 
in  the  quality  of  the  elements  employed,  in  all 
their  relations  to  one  another,  in  their  adapta- 
tion to  the  material,  in  their  appropriateness  to 
the  occasion,  and  in  their  reflection  of  the  person- 
ality of  the  designer.  For  pupils  in  elementary 
81 


ART  EDUCATION 

schools  style  means  consistency  in  treatment  or 
handling.  A  design  may  be  stiff  and  mechanical 
like  an  Egyptian  fret,  or  sinuous  and  freehand 
like  a  flamboyant  Gothic  capital,  or  strong  and 
temperate  like  a  Greek  palmette,  or  vigorous  and 
luxuriant  like  a  Roman  frieze  of  acanthus  scrolls; 
but  in  any  case  it  must  appear  such  throughout. 
One  part  must  not  be  elephantine  and  another 
serpentine,  or  one  part  a  meaningless  empty 
desert  while  another  is  a  wilderness  of  confused 
detail.  Style  is  promoted  by  the  use  of  a  single 
material,  tool,  or  medium,  or  as  near  an  approach 
to  that  as  may  be.  A  border  of  cut  paper  is  better 
than  a  border  partly  cut  and  partly  drawn.  A  bit 
of  embroidery  all  textile  in  quality  is  better  than 
a  stenciled  pattern  where  threads  and  paint  vie 
with  each  other  for  first  place.  A  design  drawn 
with  a  pencil  throughout  is  likely  to  be  better  in 
effect  than  a  design  in  which  various  qualities 
of  line  appear.  If  two  mediums  are  employed, 
one  must  be  given  such  prominence  that  it  dom- 
inates the  other  and  plays  chief  part  in  the  effect. 
The  aim  should  be  harmony,  a  condition  where 
nothing  can  be  added  and  nothing  removed  to 
82 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION   A  FACTOR 

improve  the  effect;  a  condition  where  all  the 
elements  conspire  to  produce  in  a  person  of  taste 
a  sense  of  satisfaction  with  the  whole. 

In  every  grade  the  practice  of  designing  should 
be  preceded  and  supplemented  by  practice  in 
observing  applied  design.  The  children  should  be 
led  to  acquire  the  habit  of  coming  to  a  decision 
as  to  the  excellence  of  every  bit  of  decoration 
they  see.  That  their  decision  be  right  or  wrong  is 
not  so  important  as  that  it  be  made.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  decorated  things  of  any  kind,  —  hand- 
kerchiefs with  ornamented  borders,  figured  dress 
goods,  rugs,  wall-papers,  embroidered  curtains, 
scarfs,  collars,  decorated  china,  inlaid  floors, 
carved  wood  or  stone,  —  they  should  habitually 
decide  whether  the  ornament  seems  to  them  to 
be  appropriate  and  excellent,  or  otherwise,  and 
why.  By  such  decisions,  supplemented  by  actual 
practice  of  decoration  in  the  simple  things  they 
make,  they  will  come  to  finer  taste  and  greater 
skill  in  design. 

Construction 

Construction  means  the  production  of  things 
in  tangible  form.  In  school  work  such  activities 

83 


ART  EDUCATION 

as  drawing  by  means  of  ruler  and  compass,  work- 
ing to  scale,  directly  involved  in  the  process  of 
producing  things,  are  classed  under  this  head. 
Construction  is  the  logical  conclusion  of  design. 
Construction  tests  the  adequacy  of  drawing.  Con- 
struction reveals  the  limitations  and  possibilities 
of  materials  as  to  both  form  and  color.  Without 
construction  art  is  likely  to  become  fantastic, 
insincere,  and  impractical. 

A  separate  course  in  construction  is  quite  as 
undesirable  as  a  separate  course  in  drawing  or  in 
design  unrelated  to  school  and  home  activities. 
Moreover,  such  a  course  would  tend  to  become 
quickly  a  mechanical  and  formal  course,  without 
^  life  or  beauty  of  result.  From  the  very  first,  there- 
fore, drawing,  designing,  and  coloring  should 
eventuate  in  construction.  The  supposition  that 
in  any  given  grade  but  one  kind  of  constructive 
material  ought  to  be  allowed,  or  that  there  should 
be  a  ^^  course ''  in  the  use  of  any  particular  mate- 
rial like  paper,  raflSa,  or  wood,  seems  to  be  a  mis- 
take. The  "course"  should  consist  of  projects 
vital  to  the  daily  life  of  the  children.  If  in  the 
working-out  of  these  projects  paper  or  cloth  or 

84 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

leather  or  metal  is  required  it  should  be  used  forth- 
with, and  manipulated  as  well  as  the  skill  of  the 
pupil  will  allow.  And  yet  experience  has  taught 
that  it  is  possible  and  advisable  to  make  use  in 
school  of  such  vital  projects,  in  each  grade,  as 
lay  emphasis  upon  the  materials  and  processes 
generally  amenable  to  the  powers  of  the  children 
of  that  grade.  For  example,  projects  involving 
the  use  of  woodworking  tools  would  better  not 
be  attempted  with  primary  children;  metalwork 
is  of  doubtful  expediency  below  the  high  school; 
modeUng,  while  advantageous  to  pupils  of  every 
grade,  seems  to  hold  especially  rich  educational 
possibiUties  for  first-grade  children. 

Experience  has  taught  still  further  that  in  the 
constructive  process  certain  elements  are  always 
present  guiding  or  at  least  influencing  the  activi- 
ties of  the  craftsman.  An  idea  is  to  be  embodied; 
the  object  must  be  of  definite  width  and  height, 
of  pleasing  proportions;  the  nature  of  the  material 
employed  must  be  reflected,  and  the  technique 
obviously  appropriate  to  the  character  of  that 
material;  the  make  of  the  object  throughout,  its 
plan,  structure,  and  workmanship,  must  be  ade- 

8s 


ART  EDUCATION 

quate  and  skillful,  if  the  object  is  to  give  satisfac- 
tion to  all  concerned.  These  four  elements  should 
influence  all  school  work  in  construction,  each  in 
turn  receiving  special  emphasis  as  the  develop- 
ing powers  of  the  children  make  such  emphasis 
intelHgible  and  fruitful. 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  considerations 
the  seven  headings  which  follow,  indicating  in 
a  general  way  the  dominant  points  for  empha- 
sis in  successive  grades,  and  appropriate  ma- 
terials, tools,  and  processes,  may  not  be  misin- 
terpreted. 

(i)  Embodying  the  idea.  In  construction  as 
in  object  drawing,  free  expression  must  precede 
trained  expression.  During  the  first  weeks  in 
school  the  spontaneous  constructive  activities  of 
the  home  life,  such  as  building  with  blocks,  play- 
ing with  sand,  making  boxhouses  for  dolls,  mud 
pies  for  the  fim  of  it,  begin  to  take  on  greater 
significance  through  the  use  of  building-blocks, 
the  sand- table,  the  kindergarten  *^  gifts,"  and 
plastic  material  for  modeling.  At  first  the  teacher 
will  be  satisfied  if  the  building  be  purposeful,  if  a 
definite  plan  be  worked  out  in  whatever  is  at- 
86 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

tempted,  if  the  idea  be  evidently  embodied  in 
the  result  of  modeling  and  making.  Of  course  the 
work  will  be  exceedingly  crude  so  far  as  technical 
qualities  are  concerned;  but  such  qualities  are  of 
slight  importance  compared  with  the  quality  of 
life.  The  questions  are,  Does  the  thing  seem 
vital?  Is  it  charged  with  purpose?  Does  it 
manifest  the  thing  it  was  intended  to  manifest? 
Has  the  little  worker  caught  the  idea  and  ex- 
pressed it  in  his  work?  If  so,  the  result  is  to 
be  commended  no  matter  how  crude  it  may 
be. 

(2)  Determining  proportions.  That  dolls  are  as 
tall  as  forest  trees,  that  doors  are  coextensive  with 
whole  front  walls  of  play-houses,  that  a  toy  chair 
is  wider  than  it  is  high,  is  not  at  first  of  the  slight- 
est consequence  to  children.  As  the  mind  devel- 
ops, such  incongruities  become  evident  and  unde- 
sirable. Things  begin  to  be  seen  in  other  than 
mere  narrative  relation.  The  mind  demands 
measure  and  proportion.  The  children  now  begin 
to  cut  paper  and  cardboard  to  definite  size  and 
shape;  the  ruler  is  introduced  to  determine 
lengths  and  widths.  Things  are  made  of  prede- 

.87 


ART  EDUCATION 

termined  proportions.  Results  begin  to  be  judged 
upon  the  basis  of  excellence  in  form.  Common 
flat  objects,  like  sheets  of  notepaper  and  envelopes 
to  correspond,  tags,  signal  flags,  and  such  things 
as  toy  sleds,  chairs,  and  utensils  of  various  sorts, 
which  may  be  cut  flat  and  folded  into  shape,  are 
examples  of  projects  appropriate  to  this  stage  of 
development. 

(3)  Relating  to  material.  Presently  the  children 
discover  that  paper  sleds  are  not  as  praiseworthy 
as  wooden  sleds;  that  while  a  paper  may-basket 
will  do  for  temporary  use,  a  school  bag  is  better 
when  made  of  cloth.  In  other  words,  they  arrive 
at  the  place  where  relations  between  use  and 
material  are  perceived.  As  soon  as  they  attempt 
to  make  a  thing  in  wood  or  cloth  that  they  made 
previously  in  paper,  they  discover  that  certain 
modifications  are  necessary.  The  material  helps 
to  determine  the  make.  Perhaps  the  conditions 
imposed  by  material  and  process  are  no  better 
exemplified  than  in  weaving.  Certainly  weaving 
is  a  form  of  constructive  art  which  appeals  to 
children  in  the  middle  grades  of  the  elementary 
school.  The  planning  of  something  to  be  woven, 
88 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

a  little  rug,  a  school  bag,  or  a  basket,  the  laying- 
out  of  the  pattern  on  squared  paper  to  discover 
the  number  of  threads  or  weavers  and  how  they 
must  be  related  to  make  the  stripe  or  figure,  the 
weaving,  strand  by  strand,  are  all  educative  pro- 
cesses of  the  highest  value,  fruitfxil  in  taste  and 
skill. 

(4)  Building,  But  things  in  the  flat  soon  fail 
to  satisfy  the  growing  powers.  The  weaving  of  a 
basket  whets  the  appetite  for  making  other  things 
in  the  round,  such  as  boxes,  toys,  and  useful 
objects  of  various  kinds,  requiring  but  few  tools. 
The  demand  for  related  views  of  the  object  to 
be  constructed  now  becomes  evident.  Children 
learn  to  use  the  compasses,  to  draw  to  scale,  to 
make  working  drawings  involving  plan  and  eleva- 
tion, to  get  out  parts  and  to  assemble  them  to 
build  a  whole.  The  embodiment  of  the  idea,  in  a 
form  of  pleasing  proportions  in  which  appropri- 
ate material  is  wisely  handled  with  a  fair  degree 
of  skill,  is  a  possible  achievement  on  the  part 
of  well-instructed  children  from  ten  to  thirteen 
years  of  age. 

(5)  Making  in  cloth  and  leather.    As  apprecia- 

89 


ART  EDUCATION 

lion  of  the  aesthetic  element  in  common  things  in- 
creases, projects  should  be  chosen  which  admit  of 
richer  decoration,  and  which  require,  in  the  mak- 
ing, greater  skill  of  hand.  Objects  involving  nee- 
dlework for  the  girls,  and  the  use  of  the  leather- 
tooling  kit  for  the  boys,  have  proved  valuable  at 
this  stage.  The  boys  need  not  be  denied  the  use 
of  the  scissors  and  needle,  nor  the  girls  the  use 
of  the  knife  and  burnisher;  but  sometimes  a  gen- 
eral division  in  constructive  work  seems  now 
desirable.  Good  designs  for  needlework  or  tool- 
work  cannot  be  made  without  experience  in 
actual  working-out  in  the  material.  Here  theory 
and  practice  react  on  each  other  to  the  advantage 
of  the  craftsman  and  his  product.  Projects  of 
immediate  interest  to  children,  useful  things  to 
be  worn  or  put  to  daily  use,  such  as  collars,  cuffs, 
ornamental  bands,  belts,  fobs,  cardcases,  pocket- 
books,  and  the  like,  offer  alluring  possibilities, 
not  only  for  expressing  one's  best  thought  as  to 
appropriate  form,  but  one's  best  feeling  for  har- 
monious color. 

(6)  Dressmaking  and  woodworking.    The  pro- 
jects now  become  more  complicated,  requiring  a 
90 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

sustained  interest  and  persistence  in  working  for 
more  remote  ends.  The  girls  make  doll's  cloth- 
ing, and  then  some  garment  for  themselves.  The 
boys  make  mechanical  toys,  and  then  some  simple 
piece  of  furniture  for  the  home.  Working  with 
patterns,  and  from  drawings  or  blueprints,  bast- 
ing, stitching,  embroidering,  handling  successfully 
the  common  tools  of  the  carpenter  at  the  bench, 
—  these  are  some  of  the  activities  peculiarly 
appropriate  to  the  upper  grammar  grades.  One 
or  two  projects  should  be  carried  through  to  com- 
pletion in  the  pupil's  best  manner.  His  work 
should  represent  the  high- water  mark  of  his 
intelligence  and  skill.  The  danger  here  is  in 
attempting  too  much.  An  attainable  goal  is  more 
stimulating  to  boys  and  girls  than  an  unattain- 
able vision  in  the  clouds. 

(7)  Printing  and  bookbinding.  The  type-case 
and  the  printing-press  are  becoming  more  widely 
recognized  every  day  as  efl&cient  instruments  in 
manual  arts  education.  Through  printing,  a  large 
number  of  common  school  topics  —  spelling, 
language  work,  English  composition,  mathemat- 
ics, drawing,  design,  color,  etc.  — ^^are  vitalized 

91 


ART  EDUCATION 

and  interrelated  to  a  useful  end,  immediately  rec- 
ognizable as  such  by  young  and  old  alike.  Book- 
binding is  the  logical  conclusion.  Its  require- 
ments are  exacting;  its  field  uulimited  in  the 
direction  of  fine  craftsmanship.  The  equipment 
for  such  crafts  is  somewhat  expensive  at  first,  but 
the  running  expense  is  not  great;  and  the  results 
amply  justify  the  cost.  In  schools  where  proper 
equipment  is  not  available,  good  training  in  many 
of  the  essential  elements  of  these  crafts  may  be 
secured  through  the  practice  of  pen-lettering, 
and  the  making  of  objects  involving  the  use  of  the 
simpler  bookbinding  tools.  Motto-cards,  menus, 
place-cards,  telephone  rosters,  desk  pads,  port- 
folios, booklets,  and  other  useful  objects  capable 
of  giving  pleasure  through  excellence  of  design 
and  workmanship,  offer  unlimited  scope  to  the 
powers  of  pupils  of  the  upper  grammar  grades. 

The  teacher  should  keep  constantly  in  mind 
that  to  make  a  thing  is  not  so  important  as  to 
make  a  desired  thing;  and  that  to  make  a  desired 
thing  is  not  so  important  educationally  as  to  make 
it  rightly.  Constructive  activities  should  be  so 
directed  that  the  children  acquire  the  habit  of 
92 


SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

approaching  problems  auspiciously,  that  is,  in  a 
way  that  gives  promise  of  success.  The  pupiFs 
first  question  in  the  presence  of  any  constructive 
problem  should  be,  What  is  required?  Having 
determined  that  fully,  the  next  question  is.  How 
can  the  conditions  be  met  adequately,  in  a  pleas- 
ing manner?  And  the  third  is.  To  what  extent 
can  I  reveal  my  own  taste  and  skill,  my  own  love 
of  beauty,  through  the  work  of  my  own  hands? 


VIII 

THE  TEACHER  THE  CHIEF  FACTOR 

But  after  any  analysis  of  the  educational  prob- 
lem, no  matter  how  fruitful  the  result  may  be,  or 
may  promise  to  be,  the  broad-minded  and  candid 
observer  must  admit  that  ultimately  the  sinei 
oua  non  is  always  found  to  be  the  teacher.  A 
^^"^  seed  may  appear  perfect  under  the  microscope, 
contain  every  material  element  in  due  propor- 
tion, and  yet  be  dead,  incapable  of  sprouting. 
The  essential  thing  in  the  seed  that  is  to  produce 
a  harvest  is  life.  A  live  teacher  will  always  pro- 
duce living  fruit,  whatever  the  material  elements 
may  be  with  which  he  must  work. 

In  the  realm  of  art  education  the  teacher  and 
his  personal  equipment  seem  to  be  of  transcend- 
ent importance.  Dr.  Emerson  E.  White  was  fond 
of  saying,  "An  art  is  caught,  not  taught."  Here 
is  a  bit  of  first-hand  testimony  on  this  point  from 
one  who  is  now  a  successful  supervisor  of  draw- 
ing: — 

94 


THE  TEACHER  THE  CHIEF  FACTOR 

As  a  boy  at  school,  I  had  one  teacher  who  drew. 
He  drew  incessantly  and  drew  well.  Thinking  back 
to  it  now,  I  realize  that  he  drew  practically  every- 
thing known  to  our  little  world.  He  illustrated  his 
arithmetic  and  physiology,  drew  continually  in  his 
geography  classes,  and  made  history  a  downright 
delight  by  depicting  not  only  the  positions  of  the 
infantry,  cavalry,  etc.,  but  also  the  various  kinds 
of  uniforms,  accouterments,  and  ordnance;  and  I 
well  remember  how  we  cheered  when  the  splendid 
galleons  of  the  Armada  went  to  pieces  on  our  black- 
board just  as  they  did  in  1588  off  the  English 
coast. 

But  our  greatest  interest  centered  in  his  hobby  — 
Natural  History.  Here  he  seemed  preeminent;  and 
we  observed  the  remarkable  structure  of  the  wood- 
pecker's tongue,  or  noted  the  points  of  difference 
between  the  wildcat  and  the  lynx,  from  the  lucid  and 
accurate  drawings  which  appeared  before  us. 

We  did  not  know  that  we  were  learning  to  draw. 
We  would  not  have  called  it  drawing  anyway.  It 
was  simply  that  we  gradually  came  to  express  our- 
selves as  he  did. 

Masters  of  pedagogy  may  say  whatsoever  they 
will;  I,  for  one,  believe  there  is  no  better  theory  of 
teaching  art  than  the  homely  old  one  of  imitation. 
Teachers  who  draw  put  sand  on  the  tracks,  so  to 
speak,  the  wheels  grip  the  rails  afresh,  and  their 

95 


ART  EDUCATION 

pupils  swiftly  enter  new  and  hitherto  unsuspected 
realms  of  power.  ^ 

The  teacher  who  can  draw  possesses  undoubt- 
edly an  enviable  advantage  in  teaching.  But  art 
education  means  far  more  than  teaching  children 
to  draw.  The  teacher  who  possesses  a  fair  degree 
of  taste;  who  exemplifies  in  himself  the  art  of 
applying  a  knowledge  of  form  and  color  harmo- 
nies in  dress  and  personal  adornment;  who  is  not 
content  until  every  feature  of  his  schoolroom  is  of 
such  a  character  that  it  may  contribute  its  share 
in  the  educational  process;  who  insists  that  his 
pupils,  in  all  they  do,  live  up  to  all  the  light  they 
have,  and  work  at  their  highest  possible  level  of 
efficiency,  as  he  himself  does;  and  above  all  a 
teacher  who  in  addition  has  a  brooding  love  for 
the  boys  and  girls  under  his  charge,  and  a  per- 
petual enthusiasm  for  fine  things,  will  be  sure  to 
achieve  success  in  giving  to  his  pupils  an  appre- 
ciation for  the  beautiful  and  a  power  to  produce 
beautiful  things. 

*  From  an  article  by  Paul  E.  Beck,  in  the  School  Arts 
Magazine,  May,  1913. 

96 


I 


THE  TEACHER  THE  CHIEF  FACTOR 

"  Day  by  day  for  her  darlings 
To  her  much  she  added  more; 
In  her  hundred-gated  Thebes 
Every  chamber  was  a  door, 
A  door  to  something  grander,  — 
Loftier  walls  and  vaster  floor." 

Emerson. 


OUTLINE 

ART  EDUCATION;  ITS  AIM  AND  METHOD 

1.  The    development    of    appreciation    and 
power I 

2.  Taste  develops  slowly  through  choices  .    .  i 

3.  Skill  develops  slowly  through  doing  things  2 

4.  Art    education  provides  opportunity  for 
these  activities 2 

II.  THE  SCHOOL  ESTATE  A  FACTOR 

1.  The  building  should  be  one  of  the  best  in 
town 3 

2.  The  lot  should  be  large  enough  for  play- 
ground and  lawn 3 

3.  The  treatment  of  the  small  yard     ...      3 

4.  The  use  of  window-boxes 4 

5.  The  children  of  the  school  as  citizens  of  the 
town 5 

III.  THE  SCHOOLROOM  A  FACTOR 

1.  The  ideal  schoolroom  is  a  handsome  con- 
venient workroom 7 

2.  It  should  furnish  ideals  and  standards  of 
excellence  in  everything  it  involves       .    .      8 

3.  A  favorable  school  equipment 9 

(i)  The  color  scheme 9 

99 


OUTLINE 

(2)  Wall  decorations   .    '. 12 

(3)  Temporary  exhibits 18 

(4)  Flower  arrangements 19 

(5)  Mounted  pictures 22 

IV.  SCHOOL  HOUSEKEEPING  A  FACTOR 

1.  The  very  heart  of  beauty  is  order     ...  30 

2.  A  reasonable  order  will  facilitate  use  and 
satisfy  taste 31 

3.  The  thought  of  such  an  order  should  become 
habitual  with  every  child 31 

'  V.  SCHOOL  COSTUME  A  FACTOR 

1.  The  teacher  as  an  example 32 

2.  The  application  of  art  to  children's  clothing  33 

VL  SCHOOL  WORK  A  FACTOR 

1.  The  wise  choice  of  materials  for  a  given  end  35 

2.  Neatness  of  appearance  in  school  papers   .  35 

3.  The  use  and  effect  of  the  blackboard     .    .  36 

4.  Illustrations  of  written  work  ....    37-40 

VII.  SPECIFIC  INSTRUCTION  A  FACTOR 

I.  Color 47 

(i)  The  spectrum 48 

(2)  Key  colors .49 

(3)  Values  of  color 49 

(4)  Hues  of  color 50 

(5)  Complementary  colors 51 

(6)  Intensities  or  chromas  of  colors    .    .  52 

(7)  Scales  of  color 52 

100 


OUTLINE 

Plant  drawing 54 

(i)  Growth 54 

(2)  Proportions 55 

(3)  Colors 55 

(4)  Contours 56 

(5)  Structure 56 

(6)  Appearance 57 

(7)  Charm 58 

Object  drawing •  59 

(i)  Imaginative  drawing 60 

(2)  Illustrative  drawing 62 

(3)  Silhouettes 63 

(4)  The  third  dimension 65 

(5)  Foreshortening 66 

(6)  Convergence 68 

(7)  Suggestive  rendering 69 

Design 71 

(i)  Repetition 74 

(2)  Rhythm 74 

(3)  Space  division 75 

(4)  Balance 76 

(5)  Adaptation 77 

(6)  Interrelation 79 

(7)  Style 81 

Construction 83 

(i)  Embodying  the  idea 86 

(2)  Determining  proportions     ....  87 

(3)  Relating  to  material S8 

(4)  Building 89 

(5)  Making  in  cloth  and  leather    ...  89 

lOI 


OUTLINE 

(6)  Dressmaking  and  woodworking    .    .    90 

(7)  Printing  and  bookbinding    ....    91 

VIII.  THE  TEACHER  THE  CHIEF  FACTOR 

1.  The  teacher  and  his  personal  equipment 
seem  to  be  of  transcendent  importance      .    94 

2.  The  teacher  who  can  draw  possesses  an 
enviable  advantage 96 

3.  A  fair  degree  of  taste  fully  exemplified  and 
expressed  with  children  will  insure  success    96 


FOURTEEN  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


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